Occupational fraud is a growing business risk that is causing greater financial losses in small businesses than large businesses. Business owners lose approximately 5% of their revenues due to occupational fraud. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by some business owners of small restaurants to reduce occupational fraud. The fraud triangle theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Three small restaurant owners from Puerto Rico participated in face-to-face, semistructured interviews to reveal their successful strategies to minimize fraud. The data collection process also included business documents and researcher observations that assisted in establishing methodological triangulation. Using Yin's 5-step process, data were coded and analyzed to identify emergent themes. The primary emergent themes obtained from data analysis revealed that owner monitoring, analytical procedures, and segregation of duties are effective strategies to minimize employee fraud. Participants revealed that the implementation of these strategies may reduce organizational losses associated to fraud. The findings of this study may contribute to social change by reducing fraud activities, business failures, unemployment level, and criminality rate while promoting trust between community members and their institutions.

Business owners' lack of strategies to prevent and detect occupational fraud in small retail businesses in the United States could result in substantial financial losses or insolvency. Grounded in Cressey's fraud triangle, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore internal control strategies 6 owners of small retail businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania used to prevent and detect occupational fraud. Face-to-face interviews, observations, and documentation are the data collection techniques I used in this study. Data were transcribed, coded, analyzed, and member checked to identify emergent themes. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: financial impact, transaction responsibility and monitoring, networking and business models, communication, separation of duties, and training. The results of this study indicated areas for action that owners of small retail businesses could take to prevent and detect occupational fraud. Strategies business owners could implement to protect their businesses from occupational fraud include monitoring, employee identity documents to track employee activity, separation of duties, and communication with employees. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential for social entrepreneurship because small business owners create employment opportunities for members of the community, including high school students with the desire to run small retail businesses. Small business owners serve their communities by focusing on wealth distribution, including donations to local charities that foster economic stability with positive effects on society.

Banks are in a precarious position due to increasing corporate losses from prolonged instances of employee-driven occupational fraud. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the leadership strategies some bank leaders used to reduce corporate losses from occupational fraud. The fraud triangle theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews with 11 bank managers at various levels within the bank, and a focus group session with 8 frontline managers. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step data analysis process, which entailed descriptive coding and sequential review of the interview transcripts. Member checks and interviewing until data saturation occurred helped to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. Six themes emerged as the key study findings: effective communication, leading by example, empowerment, incentivizing, engendering trust, and personal integrity. Managers use of strategies incorporating these themes helped to improve employees' commitment to achieving their organization's corporate vision and establishing a sense of ownership whereby the employees would better protect and value organizational assets. The board of directors, senior managers, and frontline managers could all apply the strategies, thus reducing the likelihood of occupational fraud. Application of the study findings could contribute to social change by enabling bank leaders to create a positive organizational environment in which their employees make better choices to behave ethically, demonstrate financial responsibility with regards to corporate assets, and become principle agents of the organization.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Internal Auditing in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) play an important role in the stimulation of the national economy. However, according to previous research studies, these business entities have one of the worst sustainability rates in the world as approximately 80% of South African SMMEs tend to fail after being in operation for only three years. Taking the weak sustainability rate of these business entities into account, further studies suggest that South African SMMEs operate in a harsh economic environment, which, in turn, creates a breeding ground for risks to realise in, including that of occupational fraud risk. According to scholarly literature, the occurrence of occupational fraud risk is believed to stem from the utilisation of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities – South African SMMEs, in general, are believed to make use of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities. For this research study, focus was placed on investigating the effectiveness of internal control activities used within South African fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) SMMEs to combat occupational fraud risk. This was achieved by conducting a literature review (see Chapter 2) to assist in the development of a survey to, in turn, conduct empirical research by collecting quantitative data from respondents (see Chapter 3). All relevant quantitative data gleaned were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (see Chapter 4). Based on the analysed data, it was found that although implemented internal control activities in sampled South African FMCG SMMEs were customised, a few internal control activities assisted in the combating of occupational fraud risk while the bulk of internal control activities did not assist in combating occupational fraud risk. Stemming from the study conducted, the inference was made that the occurrence (realisation) of occupational fraud risk may be exacerbated by the implemented internal control activities in South African FMCG SMMEs due to their ineffectiveness.

The world economy loses an estimated $3.5 trillion annually due to fraud. A weakened economy leads to additional hardships for individuals, families, and organizations. General strain theory (GST) posits that certain strains lead to negative emotional responses, and the result is delinquent behavior. The purpose of this research was to analyze the relationship between strain and occupational fraud through the theoretical framework of GST. The research questions addressed (a) occupational frauds as measured by strain levels of perpetrators, (b) the relationship between strain scores and the different occupational fraud types, and (c) the significance of the relationship between fraud motivation and each of the occupational fraud types. A quantitative, cross-sectional study using secondary data from the ACFE Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse database, was conducted to examine the relationship between strain, negative emotionality, and occupational fraud crimes. To examine this relationship, a sample of 2,910 cases were tested using nominal regression, logistic regression, and Pearson correlation. The results indicated that strain is significantly related to asset misappropriation and financial statement frauds. The results also showed that work-related motivation is significantly related to financial statement frauds. Scholars and practitioners should focus on agendas related to strain, work-related motivation, and financial statement frauds. Fewer fraud losses will positively impact society through increased employment opportunities, additional tax revenues for all levels of government, and increased cash flows for investors.

The dissertation thesis at large discusses the problems of unlawful conduct in the economic area, possibilities for its exposure and prevention issues. Every human conduct, apart from the legal viewpoint, may also be assessed from the moral viewpoint, whereas in this context, law is designated as the "moral minimum". From this relationship, we arrive at the conclusion that every instance of unlawful conduct is also immoral. On the contrary, conduct that complies with the law always need not be in compliance with the moral norms. In the Czech Republic, the New Criminal Code came into force on 1 January 2010, which also punishes the most severe forms of unlawful conduct and fundamentally affects performance of the accounting and auditing professions. Apart from some concept changes, this Codex also introduced, for instance, changes in the punishability of planning crimes. From the viewpoint of the auditor, tax adviser and accountant, barring of perpetration, whose commitment or planning authentically comes to the knowledge of the auditor, tax adviser or accountant seems to be fundamental. The issues of occupational fraud are mainly related to the problems of the auditing profession. These unlawful acts take various forms, which can be split into three basic groups, which are asset misappropriation, fraudulent statements and corruption. When exposing occupational fraud, as well as other forms of unlawful conduct, confidentiality issues are fundamental. In some cases, the law anticipates breaking through this confidentiality, mainly, for the purpose of exposing the most severe forms of unlawful conduct. Within the framework of prevention of occupational fraud, internal control systems play an essential role. It is possible to evaluate the existence of ethical codices, respectively, building of ethical corporate culture as very fundamental.