Constituents in the judicial process such as jurors and lawyers who often play a critical role in the aftermath of an alleged financial reporting fraud have largely been ignored in the accounting literature. Literature in psychology suggests that both laypeople and highly trained professionals frequently over-attribute causality of an observed behavior to the disposition of the person performing that behavior. In doing so, these individuals underestimate the power of situations and fail to recognize important environmental factors that lead to a particular behavior. Within the context of fraudulent financial reporting, there is little understanding of how jurors and lawyers initially perceive and react to fraudulent behavior. Consequently, it is possible jurors and lawyers who are asked to evaluate the causality of a suspected fraudulent event, are inaccurate in their assessment of the causality of that event. This study addresses the question of whether or not the various constituents in the judicial process are biased in their attributions when evaluating causal factors related to financial reporting decisions. More specifically, it focuses on how individuals outside the profession of accounting, laymen jurors and corporate lawyers, make attributions when observing decisions related to fraudulent financial reporting, and whether or not these attributions differ from those made by corporate accountants. Further, after identifying differences in attributions, this study attempts to determine the causes of these differences; and whether recent changes in business culture have been effective in curbing financial reporting fraud. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a proliferation of high profile financial reporting frauds, and as a result, numerous changes have been made within the regulatory environment governing financial reporting. Many of these changes targeted overall business culture and a commitment to ethical financial reporting. By studying the attributions of corporate accountants we learn about their perceptions of the current environment and better understand their willingness to report something in a manner that would constitute financial reporting fraud. Evidence demonstrates that laymen, corporate lawyers, and corporate accountants differ in their attributions and that laymen are typically more biased when observing individuals and their financial reporting decisions. Laymen are also shown to lack awareness of recent changes in the financial reporting environment, have unrealistic expectations of the likelihood accountants are willing to intentionally misreport something, and are not as good at identifying appropriate and inappropriate financial reporting behaviors. Results also suggest recent changes in business culture and governance around financial reporting have been effective in convincing corporate accountants that environmental factors should not lead to, and are not a viable excuse for, fraudulent financial reporting. / Ph. D.

This article examines the question of whether a manufacturer is liable to prosecution for fraud if he sells food that is labeled, for example, as 'organic' or 'fairtrade' even though the product does not actually meet these criteria. In the present article, this legal question is examined based on the (objec- tive) offense of fraud under Section 263 (1) of the German Criminal Code (“StGB”), which provides a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years. In particularly cases such as commercial fraud, a prison sentence of up to ten years may be imposed. In order not to overload the article, the relationship be- tween the food producer ('seller') and the buyer is considered. In view of the international nature of this medium, this article merely aims to raise awareness of this criminal law issue. Therefore, the main features of the objective elements of fraud are presented and the legal opinions are summarized concisely. With regard to causality and the subjective elements of fraud, it can be anticipated in this constellation that no specific peculiarities are recognizable, which is why these points will not be discussed. In addition to the Section 263 (1) StGB discussed here, other criminal offenses may also be relevant.

No / In light of the growing interest in "ethically questionable" consumer behavior, this study explores possible explanations of the occurrence of such behaviour, and subsequently develops a theoretical framework. The study is based upon data collected from 72 U.K. consumers, acquired from a projective approach with scenarios. Taking the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as an initial analytical framework, attitude, social influence, opportunity (as perceived behavioral control in TPB) and perceived unfairness are identified as the antecedents of ethically questionable behavior (EQB). Social influence is extended to include a broader range of external influences from subjective norm in TPB. Opportunity is considered to represent an aspect of perceived behavioral control as available resource to engage in EQB. Perceived unfairness is presented as an additional component and refers to the extent to which an actor is motivated to redress an imbalance that is perceived as unfair. Binary logistic models suggest that attitude and social influence consistently impact on EQB, as TPB would predict. Analysis of variance suggests that perceived unfairness and opportunity, though context specific, also show signs of significant influence on the acceptance and practice of this behavior. Additional to the construct of TPB, this study develops the dimension of perceived unfairness in the context of EQB decision-making. In the context of TPB, it provides further insight into our understanding of EQB, helping to provide a theoretical framework.

Victims of romance scams are often held responsible and blamed for their ownvictimisation. It is still not sufficiently clear why victim blaming occurs sofrequently in this context in particular. One explanation is provided by Lerner'spsychological theory Belief in a Just World (BJW), which has been repeatedlytested in a criminological context over the last few decades, but has hardly everbeen applied to romance scams. The theory assumes that people who have astrong belief in a just world tend to blame victims more in order to shield oneselffrom the negative aspects of reality. This thesis tested the theory in the context ofromance scams within a vignette study of undergraduate criminology students atMalmö University. The primary aim was to find out whether the BJW theory is atall suitable for explaining victim blaming in this context and to investigate therelationship between BJW and victim blaming. The study itself had to contendwith a small sample size and the associated problems, particularly in relation totype II error, which meant that there were no clear results.

In this study the main focus of the researcher was to analyse a cheque to identify crime. This study intends to give the forensic investigator a guideline to follow during the analysis of a cheque under investigation. Crimes that could be detected during the analysis of a cheque are fraud, forgery and uttering. Other aspects were also explained to ensure a better understanding of the study, namely: forensic investigation, forensic investigator, identification and crime scenes. Forensic investigation is a systematic search for the truth with the primary purpose of finding a positive solution to a crime. Forensic investigation is not a game of chance, or based on storybook types of coincidences. Therefore, forensic investigators cannot rely on coincidental success to come their way. It is true that luck sometimes plays a role in forensic investigations, but it is the thorough investigator who creates his/her own opportunities and arrives at the right place at the right time. In order for a forensic investigator to strive for excellence, he/she must have a good knowledge of his/her field of work. It is important for the forensic investigator to understand that identification plays an important role in forensic investigation. An additional benefit is derived when one can individualise something because it makes the identification much more valuable. All crime scenes should furthermore be managed in such a way that all physical evidence can be collected in order to ensure successful prosecution and conviction in a court of law. It is the belief of the researcher that because cheques are not acknowledged as crime scenes and therefore not properly handled or protected, many investigations fail in court and the accused are acquitted. / Criminology / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

My goal in this research was to develop a checklist for examining a cheque for information that can be used to identify, individualise and trace the perpetrator of a crime. A further intent was to share and introduce a number of important concepts, namely forensic investigation, identification, individualisation, the Locard principle and crime scene. This research will explain that forensic investigation refers to the using of sophisticated investigation techniques to obtain sufficient information to prove the true facts in a court of law. Further, that identification is the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which an object is definitively recognisable or known, while the individual characteristics establish the individuality of a specific object. To link an individual with a crime scene, many types of evidence may be used and to associate an individual with the performed illegal handling, many types of evidence may be used. These types of evidence are commonly referred to as ”transfer” evidence. This process is also referred to as the ”Locard principle”. Lastly, a crime scene is explained as a place where a crime has occurred. It is also explained to be a ”laboratory of information” and therefore, during a cheque fraud investigation, the cheque is in most cases the only link to information to trace, identify and individualise the perpetrator. Therefore, the cheque should be treated as a crime scene. If forensic investigators use their knowledge of these concepts together with the checklist, it should enhance their investigation skills and empower them to become better equipped for the challenges they face in identifying, individualising and tracing the perpetrators in order to ensure successful prosecution and conviction. I believe all forensic investigators will benefit from what I have discovered through this research and I am very pleased to be able to introduce this checklist to you. / Criminology / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The analysis of bank account statements to establish evidence of illicit financial activity is an established financial investigation methodology in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, but it is still in its infancy in South Africa. This is further highlighted by virtue of the fact that no uniform analysis methodology is used in South Africa for the analysis of bank account statements. The purpose of the research was to explore the role of such analysis, and the current practises in South Africa and New Jersey in the United States. This was to determine a practical model for the analysis of bank account statements in the South African context. Empirical research led to a proposed process model for such analysis, which was synthesised from current practises in South Africa and New Jersey in the United States. This model is proposed as the basis for the development of a uniform analysis methodology for the examination of bank account statements. / Die analise van bankrekeningstate om bewys van onwettige finasiële aktiwiteite te bepaal is 'n vasgestelde finansiële ondersoek metode in lande soos die Verenigde State en die Verenigde Koningkryk, maar in Suid-Afrika is dit steeds in die begin stadium. Dit is verder beklemtoon deur die feit dat daar geen eenvormige analise metode in Suid-Afrika in gebruik is vir die analise van bankrekeningstate. Die doel van die navorsing was om die rol van hierdie tipe analise, en die huidige praktyk in Suid-Afrika en New Jersey in die Verenigde State te bepaal. Dit was om 'n praktiese model vir die analise van bankrekeningstate in Suid-Afrika te bepaal. Empiriese navorsing het gelui tot 'n voorgestelde proses model vir hierdie tipe analise, wat 'n samesmelting van die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse en New Jersey in die Verenigde State praktyk is. Hierdie model word voorgestel as die beginpunt vir die ontwikkeling van 'n eenvormige analise metode vir die ondersoek van bankrekening state. / Criminology / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

A tecnologia da informação e comunicação é um fator importante no desenvolvimento futuro da indústria de serviços financeiros, com especial atenção ao setor bancário. A maioria dos bancos utiliza a Internet como um canal estratégico de distribuição onde seus serviços e produtos possuem uma relação muito próxima com o conceito mais amplo possível de marketing, aquele que descreve plenamente um ambiente e um nicho de negócio e onde o desenvolvimento e evolução deste canal associa-se diretamente a própria evolução do marketing em si. O tema central deste trabalho é apresentar uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o canal Internet Banking analisando as principais questões e desafios referentes às fraudes eletrônicas e suas ameaças, além de descrever o impacto das mídias sociais que estão ocasionando dentro das corporações. Realiza-se também um paralelo de como os serviços e produtos bancários acompanharam de perto a evolução do marketing e como, hoje, neste momento de transição de um paradigma econômico para outro, estes dois modelos se relacionam em um ponto específico: a tendência das fraudes no ambiente de Internet Banking e sua evolução para o Social Banking. Analisam-se também quais caminhos serão abertos dentro do novo paradigma de economia e marketing sociais para este tipo de ocorrência. Para atenuar de forma eficaz o risco de fraude, é importante implementar um amplo programa decisório para prevenção, que se estenda além de um conjunto de controles internos sofisticados em todos os níveis e divisões de uma organização. Finalmente, a conclusão e perspectivas futuras da evolução do Internet Banking para o Social Banking com uma análise da evolução das ameaças e fraudes eletrônicas neste novo canal. / Information technology and communication is an important factor in the future development of the financial services industry, with particular attention to the banking sector. Most banks use the Internet as a strategic distribution channel where its services and products have a very close relationship with the broader concept of marketing, one that fully describes an environment and a niche business and where the development and evolution of this channel is directly associated with the evolution of the marketing itself. The central theme of this work is to present a literature review on the Internet Banking channel analyzing key issues and challenges related to electronic fraud and threats, and describes the impact of social media is causing in corporations. Additionally to the threats on the Internet Banking, this work brings an analyze of how the banking products and services are closely followed by the marketing evolution and how at this moment of transition from a economic perspective to another, these two business models are co-related to a specific aspect: The future and trends of the electronic fraud on the Internet Banking towards the evolution to the Social Banking. It also analyzes which paths will also open within the new paradigm of economics and social marketing for this type of occurrence. To effectively mitigate the risk of fraud, it is important to implement a comprehensive decision-making prevention program that extends beyond a sophisticated set of internal controls at all levels and divisions of an organization. Finally, the conclusion and future prospects of the development of Internet Banking for Social Banking with an analysis of the evolution of electronic fraud and threats in this new channel.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcos Augusto Assi Pereira.pdf: 1005672 bytes, checksum: fd3197e0f33cc06fff69ea904aa4a017 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-26 / The activities of Internal Control and Accounting are part of business management, but there is much difficulty in understanding the applicability of the matter, either through ignorance of the benefits or lack of control culture. These activities require a variety of knowledge management, control and corporate governance in addition to ongoing professional development. The control account is derived from the internal control, which determines the policies and procedures of the organization, not counting the accounting and management reports that will be part of the day to day business and explanatory notes. Thus, this study proposes to answer the following question: How companies are implementing internal controls and accounting to support cash management? The accounting errors and fraud are being treated as part of the business or know not? Because of the doubt given, the general aim of this study is to contribute to the process of implementing controls that favor corporate management, developing strategies that facilitate the relationship between theory and practice primarily on the controller. Data collection took two steps. In the first, was held exploratory study by a research literature and documents. In the second, we performed a field survey by questionnaire sent to professionals responsible for implementing corporate controls on small, medium and large companies in the region of Sao Paulo. Qualitative research and descriptive participant seeks to contribute to the disclosure of the methods and methodologies of management controls in the area of treasury and knowledge about the risk of error and fraud in the organization. The result achieved with the questionnaire, together with the definitions and concepts explored in the research literature and documents, shows that companies are implementing controls and some still have difficulty understanding risk management through internal controls and accounting / As atividades de Controles Internos e Contábeis fazem parte da gestão do negócio, mas ainda existe muita dificuldade no entendimento da aplicabilidade da matéria seja por ignorância dos benefícios, seja pela ausência de cultura de controle. Essas atividades exigem multiplicidade de conhecimentos de gestão, controle e governança corporativa, além da permanente atualização profissional. O controle contábil é derivado do controle interno, que determina as políticas e procedimentos da organização, sem contar os relatórios gerenciais e contábeis, que fazem parte das do dia a dia da empresas e da notas explicativas. Sendo assim, este estudo se propõe a responder às seguintes questões: Como as empresas estão implementando os controles internos e contábeis para suporte da gestão de tesouraria? ; Os erros e fraudes contábeis estão sendo tratados como parte do negócio ou ainda é incipiente? Em decorrência da dúvida apresentada, o objetivo geral deste estudo é contribuir para o processo de implementação de controles que favoreçam a gestão corporativa, desenvolvendo estratégias que possibilitem a relação entre teoria e prática principalmente na Controladoria. A coleta de informações teve duas etapas. Na primeira, realizou-se um estudo exploratório por meio de uma pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. Na segunda, elaborou-se uma pesquisa de campo mediante um questionário encaminhado aos profissionais responsáveis pela implementação de controles corporativos em empresas de pequeno, médio e grande porte na região de São Paulo. A pesquisa qualitativa, participante e descritiva contribui para a obtenção de métodos e metodologias de gestão de controles na área de tesouraria e para ampliar o conhecimento dos riscos de erros e fraudes na organização. O resultado alcançado com o questionário, em conjunto com conceitos e definições explorados na pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, demonstra que muitas empresas estão implementando controles e algumas ainda têm dificuldade de entendimento da gestão de riscos dos controles internos e contábeis

L'objectiu de la meva tesi és tractar i entendre millor els múltiples aspectes de la corrupció i el frau internacionals des de la perspectiva del management. Amb aquesta finalitat, hi proporciono un compendi d'articles, tots els quals han estat publicats en journals amb revisors, o bé estan en procés de ser-ho. El primer article que presento en la meva tesi fou publicat al European Business Forum, una revista especialitzada patrocinada per la CEMS, que és llegida per més de 40.000 professionals dels negocis d'arreu d'Europa. Alguns dels diaris internacionals més importants, com ara el Times of London Newspaper, també citen aquest article a bastament. S'hi exposa per què i com es cometen els fraus. El segon article que comento a la tesi es troba actualment en fase de "revisió i reenviament" al Journal of Business Ethics. Es tracta d'un journal sobre factors d'impacte, inclòs a la llista dels 40 millors journals de management que publica el Financial Times. Aquest article tracta de com les persones fan servir el poder per reclutar altres persones per tal que participin en el frau d'estats financers. Aquest segon article també es va sotmetre a la revisió d'àrbitres a l'edició 2007 de la European Academy of Management Conference que tingué lloc a París, França. El tercer article que es presenta en la meva tesi fou publicat a The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security, and Law. També s'havia presentat prèviament a la XII Conferència Anual d'AMCIS amb revisors, que tingué lloc a Acapulco, Mèxic. La Conferència d'AMCIS és un dels principals congressos acadèmics que tracten dels camps relacionats amb els sistemes d'informació. Aquest tercer article analitza com els responsables de perpetrar el frau se serveixen dels principis i les estratègies de poder i negociació per enredar les persones per Internet perquè participin en projectes de frau. El quart article que comento fou publicat a l'Information Systems Security Journal. Aquest journal fa 17 anys que el publica Taylor and Francis Publishing -una de les principals editorials de journals acadèmics-, i és la publicació oficial de CISSP i SSCP. L'article analitza les tendències actuals en matèria de frau i la seva detecció. El cinquè article que es presenta fou publicat a la Corporate Finance Review. Aquest article tracta específicament del frau d'estats financers als Estats Units. També explica què pot fer Europa per aprendre dels errors comesos als Estats Units. La Corporate Finance Review és patrocinada per Thomson Education -una editorial líder en l'àmbit educatiu. Actualment, la revista es troba al 12è any de publicació. Finalment, el darrer article que presento a la tesi és un comentari que es va fer sobre el tema del frau entre dos professors americans i jo mateix. Aquest diàleg es va publicar al Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion. El comentari tractava el tema de la relació entre organitzacions imbuïdes en la religió i el frau. / El objetivo de mi tesis es tratar de entender mejor los múltiples aspectos de la corrupción y el fraude internacionales desde la perspectiva del management. Para ello, proporciono un compendio de artículos, todos ellos publicados en journals con revisores, o bien que se hallan en proceso de publicación. El primer artículo que presento en mi tesis fue publicado en el European Business Forum, una revista especializada patrocinada por la CEMS, que es leída por más de 40.000 profesionales de los negocios de toda Europa. Algunos de los diarios internacionales más importantes, como el Times of London Newspaper, también citan este artículo ampliamente. En él se expone por qué y cómo se cometen los fraudes. El segundo artículo que comento en mi tesis se halla actualmente en fase de "revisión y reenvío" al Journal of Business Ethics. Se trata de un journal sobre factores de impacto, incluido en la lista de los 40 mejores journals de management que publica el Financial Times. Dicho artículo trata de cómo las personas se sirven del poder para reclutar a otras personas para que participen en el fraude de estados financieros. Este segundo artículo también fue sometido a la revisión de árbitros en la edición 2007 de la European Academy of Management Conference celebrada en París, Francia. El tercer artículo que presento en mi tesis fue publicado en The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security, and Law. Asimismo, previamente se había presentado en la XII Conferencia Anual de AMCIS con revisores, celebrada en Acapulco, México. La Conferencia de AMCIS es uno de los principales congresos académicos que tratan de los campos relacionados con los sistemas de información. Este tercer artículo analiza cómo los responsables de perpetrar el fraude se sirven de los principios y estrategias de poder y negociación para enredar a persones por Internet para que participen en proyectos de fraude. El cuarto artículo que comento fue publicado en el Information Systems Security Journal. Este journal es publicado desde hace 17 años por Taylor and Francis Publishing -una de las principales editoriales de journals académicos-, y es la publicación oficial de CISSP y SSCP. En dicho artículo se analizan las tendencias actuales en materia de fraude y su detección. El quinto artículo que se presenta fue publicado en la Corporate Finance Review. Este artículo trata específicamente del fraude de estados financieros en Estados Unidos. També explica qué puede hacer Europa para aprender de los errores cometidos en Estados Unidos. La Corporate Finance Review cuenta con el patrocinio de Thomson Education -una editorial líder en el ámbito educativo. En la actualidad, la revista se halla en el 12.º año de publicación. Finalmente, el último artículo que presento en mi tesis es un comentario sobre el tema del fraude, realizado entre dos profesores americanos y yo mismo. Dicho diálogo fue publicado en el Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion. El comentario trataba del tema de la relación entre organizaciones imbuidas en la religión y el fraude. / The purpose of my dissertation is to address and better understand the many aspects of International Fraud and Corruption from a Management Perspective. In my dissertation, I provide a compendium of publications. Each publication was published, or is in the process of being published, in a peer-review journal. The first article that is presented in my dissertation was published in the European Business Forum, a CEMS sponsored journal that is read by more than 40,000 business professionals throughout Europe. Several major international newspapers, including the prestigious Times of London Newspaper, also quoted this article extensively. The article addresses why and how fraud are committed. The second article that is presented in my dissertation is currently under "revise and resubmit" status at the Journal of Business Ethics. This journal is an impact factor journal and is included on the Financial Times list of top 40 management journals. The article addresses how individuals use power to recruit other people to participate in financial statement fraud. This second article was also presented at the peer review 2007 European Academy of Management Conference in Paris, France. The third article that is presented in my dissertation was published in The Journal of Digital Forensics, Security, and Law. This article was also previously presented at the 12th annual peer-review AMCIS conference in Acapulco, Mexico. The AMCIS conference is one of the leading academic conferences within the information systems fields. This third article addresses how perpetrators use the principles and strategies of power and negotiation to con individuals via the Internet to participate in fraud schemes. The fourth article presented in my dissertation was published in Information Systems Security Journal. This journal is currently in its 17th year of publication and is published by Taylor and Francis Publishing - one of the leading publishers in academic journals. This journal is also the official publication of the CISSP and SSCP. The article deals with current trends in fraud and its detection. The fifth article that is presented in my dissertation was published in the journal Corporate Finance Review. This article specifically deals with financial statement fraud in the United States. The article further explains what Europe can do to learn from the mistakes of the United States. Thomson Education - a leader in educational publishing, is the sponsor of Corporate Finance Review. The journal is currently in its 12th year of publication. Finally, the last article presented in my dissertation is a commentary that took place on the subject of fraud between two American professors and myself. The dialogue was published in the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion. The topic of the commentary was on the relationship between organizations embedded in religion and fraud.