Forensic Accounting In Combatting Fraud: An Analysis Of Its Applicability And Reliability In The Retail Industry

The Problem of Fraudulent Actions in Retail Corporations

Background of the Study

The business world has continued to experience several scandals regularly that again have led to loss of asset as well as money for company’s shareholders. Forensic accounting indicates towards the use of diverse accounting skills that can be used to examine fraud or embezzlement and assess particular financial information for use in different legal proceedings. The current study takes into consideration the operations of the retail corporation, a British supermarket giant. The serious fraud office essentially has launched specific investigations undertaken by the watchdogs and this can exceed examination by the Financial Conduct Authority (Mehta and Bhavani 2017). Essentially, retail corporations have been co-effective fully and can continue to do undertake investigations. The scandal of retail corporations essentially initiated SFO to undertake criminal examination into practices of accounting at particularly Tesco Plc. The present study analyses primary context of the study that explains the structure of the corporation that is taken into account for the current study. Moving further, the current study explains key issues that illustrate all the research questions, synthesis of specific arguments from the selected articles and presents then recommendations.

Organization Structure of the firm

Retail corporations (for example, Tesco plc) are British transnational groceries that markets general products. The company follows a specific hierarchical structure of organization. Particularly, in this specific structure, both positions along with obligations are necessarily divided into different parts to make certain that work will be undertaken efficiently as well as smoothly. Essentially, the ones operating at the top echelon of the business pyramid have the optimum accountabilities as well as authorities. In this retail firm operating in UK, the Board of Directors consists of minimum 10 members and considerable alterations can happen on the board particularly during a particular period of time. The company has an appointed CEO (chief executive officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and specific numbers of Non-Executive Directors along with Non-Executive Officer. The organization structure of the retail firm operating in UK (for say, Tesco plc) necessarily contains different committees that report to the board of the company. Again the members of the executive committee are primarily led by the chief of the group. The organizational framework of the retail firm can be considered to be highly hierarchical reflecting the wide scope of the business (Nigrini 2016). There are four different layers of administration within a specific store that can generate annoying bureaucracy with a bad influence on the entire process of coordination as well as collaboration among managers of the corporation. Therefore, it is recommended that reduction of the layers of management of the firm can be done for creating higher flexibility along with faster information flow.

Hierarchical Structure of Retail Corporations and Tesco plc

The hierarchical structure of the organization follows a specific layout of a pyramid. All the employees operating in the corporation, excluding one, normally the CEO is subordinate to others operating within the business concern (Eutsler et al. 2016). Essentially, the layout comprises of different entities that necessarily descend into specifically the base of employees who are at the bottom of the hierarchical pyramid.

Again, at the store level, the structure is hereby presented below:

Free (2015) asserts that there has been alarming augmentation in the total number of fraud as well as fraudulent actions in the retail firm operating in the UK, clamouring for the forensic accountants’ services. Commercial fraud in the firm can be comprehended from several bank failures in which administration of the firm has delivered loans deceptively without authorization of the clients.   

The financial director of the company (in this case a retail firm) essentially intends to study the way forensic and investigative accounting can help in detecting accounting fraud and addressing the issue. The director of the firm intends to comprehend the way forensic accounting can augment financial skills along with investigative mentality that in turn can assist in various legal aspects and a specialised accounting field (Seda and Kramer 2015). Additionally, the financial director is also keen to investigate the engagements that stem from litigation and the way forensic accounting can be observed as a specific feature of accounting that can fittingly analyse legal matters and can offer higher assurance level. As per previous reports, it can be hereby said that system of forensic accounting can be utilized to overturn all the seepages that lead to collapse of business concerns. Fundamentally, forensic accounting exercises try to find out errors, participate in various operational vagaries along with unexpected transactions before they develop into fraud.

Key Issues

The key issues are to analytically examine overall impact of forensic accounting in addressing fraudulent actions in a bid to make certain good corporate governance exercises. In addition to this, the study also intends to examine the overall extent to which forensic accounting can help in combating diverse fraudulent actions and analyse the way the same can influence the governance of different business concerns. In addition to this, credibility of processes of external audit has been questioned in diverse nations (Herbert et al. 2017). Essentially, this can be evidenced by wide spread criticism directed to different external assessors. The causes for criticism are mainly loss of faith by primarily public to external audit owing to different financial scandals along with mega frauds that has directed the way towards big corporations leading to investment along with property loss.

Forensic Accounting and Its Impact on Corporate Governance

Again, with enhancement in the volume of business transactions and augmentation in the size of business concerns, the accountability of external audit has transformed from ascertaining the true as well as correctness of financial assertion to true and fair reporting. Essentially, this drifting of accountability has made process of detection and deterrent of fraud less viable. Essentially the profession of audit mentions that management has primary accountability of detection as well as fraud prevention in the corporation. Even though engagement of audit might be planned with professional scepticism identifying that fraud might be prevalent and this might possibly make financial assertions materially incorrect. Again, this does not assure detection of fraud. Essentially, failure of statutory audits for the purpose of detection, prevention and exposal of frauds can make accountant as well as legal practitioners to discover better ways to avert fraud from occurring and exposing them when they happen (Asare et al. 2015). Intrinsically, this has directed the way towards increase of forensic accounting as a profession. Forensic accounting engage the entire procedure of undertaking forensic assessment, counting preparation of specialist report and witness statement and potentially acting as a specialist witness in legal happenings. Various researches undertaken on the subject of forensic accounting essentially comprise of the rationale of utilizing forensic accounting on decrease of gap of audit expectation.  Lee et al. (2015) stated that introduction of particularly forensic audit was an important mechanism in lessening audit expectation gap. () suggests that the influence of the forensic accounting services on fraud detection as well as deterrence. Application of foreign accounting services directed to the increase of fraud deterrence. Ezejiofor et al. (2016) examined that studies instituted that preventive, training, identification, prosecution and investigation stratagem are utilized in handling fraud nuisance.

Fleming et al. (2016) asserted that there are several researches who have asserted about the influence of forensic accounting service in the process of fraud prevention both globally as well as regionally. However, with augmentation in frauds and ensuing losses, the study intends to institute the significance of forensic accounting services in detecting and overcoming fraud in the particular sector. Again, at the time when public can be made aware of the entire theme, then in that case they can actually demand for the service that they invest in. Therefore, it is from this identified gap in research that the study intends to seek solution to the question whether forensic accounting services can prove to be effective in fraud prevention in specific fields of business.

Research Questions

Objective of the research

The objective of the current research is as stated below:

• To institute the way and the extent to which forensic accounting can exert impact on the process of fraud prevention in retail firm operating in UK

Research Questions

The research questions formulated for the current study are as presented below:

• Can the system of forensic accounting be considered to be an effectual tool for dealing with the issues of pecuniary offences in business concerns?
• Is it essential to carry out forensic audit for the purpose of ensuring good corporate governance code in corporations?

Numerous academic scholars have come across the expression “Forensic Accounting”. McMahon et al. (2016) considered the term forensic accounting as a painstaking exercise of gathering data and analysing diverse sections of provision of support for the purpose of litigation, consultation and examination of fraud. As rihghtly indicated by Popoola et al. (2016), forensic investigation can help in the process of ascertainment as well as institution of various facts that can support legal matters. Using forensic accounting is about detection and investigation of a crime in a bid to divulge all the attending characteristics and identification of offenders. Therefore, as per the views of Popoola et al. (2016), system of forensic accounting can be regarded as the process of inferring, summing up and reflecting intricate pecuniary subjects appropriately, precisely as well as factually particularly in the court of law as a specialist. In this connection it can be said that accounting and particularly forensic accounting is adequately thorough and inclusive that in turn can help in individual professional judgement as regards different financial items in the books of accounts of firms and inventories. This in turn helps in presentation of higher quality that can remain sustainable in different adversarial lawful proceedings or else administrative evaluation.

As per the International Journal of Academic Research in Management and Business by McMahon et al. (2016), forensic accountants possess skills as well as training to understand the apparent numbers and go beyond the apparent numbers to manage different business actualities of various circumstances. Analytical evaluation, analysis, summarization along with arrangement of intricate pecuniary business associated issues is prominent characteristics of the occupation. Thus, services of forensic accounting utilize the skills and competence of practitioners in the areas of financial accounting, auditing, and management of tax as well as other skills.

Forensic Assessor and forensic accounting

As rightly put forward by Huang et al. (2017), forensic auditors are essentially the experts in the field of financial matters who are appropriately trained in the process of detection, investigation as well as deterrence of fraud along with white collar offence that need to be put forward for legal proceedings to the court or public debate. Therefore, auditors in forensic area are necessarily specialists in various monetary aspects who are well skilled in the areas of detection, investigation and deterrence of fraud along with white collar crimes. On the other hand, as per AICPA, services of forensic accounting normally involve implementation of particular skills in audit, various quantitative mechanisms, business, particular areas of law, advanced information as well as computer expertises in handling new technologies, investigative and skills of research to pull together evaluate and analyse evidential matter that in the field of forensic examination is termed as evidence. Forensic auditor possesses skills and proficiency and can be said to undertake examination on financial matter that might be utilized in court of law. As suggested by Bhasin (2016), it is accountability of administration to place particular system in position by which internal fraud can be minimised otherwise entirely wiped out from the system. Essentially, an appropriate system of internal control can play a veritable role in detection of the fraud, waste as well as abuse that take place within the corporation and might engage different employees, contract members of staff else wise vendors. Instances of internal fraud include falsification of figures, lifting of stores, store lifting and many others.

Conclusion

According to Bolt-Lee and Kern (2015), financial scam can be considered as an offence regarding deception for acquiring money otherwise different products unlawfully. Again, fraud can be identified as the criminal activity carried out against property, including unlawful translation of property belonging to others. Fraud is also said to include cronyism, political donation, bribes, setting artificial process of pricing along with frauds of different kinds. EFCC Act intends to capture a wide variety of different economic as well as financial crimes observed both within as well as outside business concerns. In essence, Dilla and Raschke (2015) defines fraudulent actions as illegal acts that can violate different subsisting legislation and can include any kind of frauds starting from trafficking, bribery and looting, money laundering, use of narcotics and any kind of corrupt unprofessional conducts counting currency, piracy, theft of firm’s intellectual property, dumping of different harmful and toxic waste or prohibited goods and many others. Dilla and Raschke (2015) are of the opinion that financial fraud in business concerns can differ widely in features and mechanisms of operation. In itself, fraud can also be categorised into two different manners that includes feature of fraudsters and mechanisms implemented in undertaking the fraudulent action. Based on the nature as well as characteristics of the offenders, fraud can also be categorised into three different groups, such as internal fraud, external fraud and mixed fraud. Steventon et al. (2017) suggests that internal fraud refers to the ones committed by different employees including directors of business concerns, whilst external fraud refers to the ones committed by individuals who are not associated to the business concern. Again, missed fraud indicates towards outsiders who collide with the members of the staff as well as directors of the corporation.

Forensic Accounting and Instances of financial fraud

As rightly indicated by Chan et al. (2015), forensic accountants can be indicated as experienced assessors, accountants as well as investigators of legal and pecuniary documents that are necessarily hired for probing into probable fears of various fraudulent actions within a corporation. Otherwise they are necessarily hired by a firm to avert fraudulent actions to take place. Mansor (2015) carried out a presentation on the condition of operations of certain banks and delivered sordid particular of banks. According to reports, five different banks were declared to be solvent with the disclosure that they had mostly corroded funds of the shareholders and violated particular ratios in banking. As per the report presented by the Centre of Forensic Studies, the rising need for forensic along with investigative accounting in the segment of banking stems from the nature of modern day banking that includes huge volume of intricate data, that in turn makes it difficult to supervise these transaction by implementing manual processes of audit. According to Bhasin (2015), this consequently turns the control utility of process of auditing very ineffective.

Impact of forensic auditing on corporate governance codes of firms

As correctly indicated by Van Akkeren and Buckby (2017), statutory audit can be considered as an audit that is obligatory by law as to put credence to firm’s pecuniary assertions and make certain that adequate and appropriate pecuniary declarations have been prepared as required by statutes and regulations. Essentially, external assessor by law has the need to be appointed by firm’s shareholders. In most of the cases the management of business concerns can appoint external auditor on the behalf of shareholders for the purpose of assessment of books of accounts. In this regard, it can be hereby said that the appointment mode of different external assessor has negatively affected performance of external assessors in undertaking the corporate governance functionalities effectually thereby making financiers to lose confidence in yearly reports presented by firms. Fundamentally, external auditors are also delivered guidance that has the capability to enhance quality of audit in detecting different material misstatements in financial reports. This can in it itself help in the process of detection of fraudulent actions or else error. In addition to this, this comprises of suggestions that an evaluator might respond to a detected risk of different material misstatement as well as errors stemming from fraudulent actions. Adebisi and Gbegi (2015) asserts that failure of the structure of the corporate communication has made financial community comprehend that there is a huge requirement for specialised professionals that can help in the process of identifying, divulging as well as preventing various weaknesses in three distinct areas namely, poor state of corporate governance, poor internal control, deceitful financial statement. Nonetheless, these stated accountabilities have not been properly accepted by assessors, therefore, leading to corporate fraud and corporate failures together with poor corporate governance. In a bid to make certain appropriate accountability and avert fraud by the administration, the forensic assessors help the management by delivering software packages that can help management to detect and avert fraud. The executive directors of the firm are aware of the fact that forensic assessors might be invited to identify and prevent different fraud. They can also make certain that their business concerns have a proper system of internal control, checks as well as balances that are transparent, in that way positively exerting influence on the corporate governance.

Prior notions

Services of forensic accounting can be considered to be immensely important when legal aspects of a business are involved. As forensic accounting mainly refers to the usage of specific skills of professional accounting in areas concerning potential or else actual civil litigation, therefore, the forensic accountant can be involved by adjuster or else a lawyer for the purpose of auditing books of accounts (Henry and Ganiyu 2017).

Numerous academic scholars have postulated several theories in their articles that can help in understanding different fraudulent actions in a specific business arrangement. Review of prior literature can help in the process of guiding the study and therefore help in understanding the underlying issues and the ways of relating the same (Bhasin 2016). There needs to be a mechanism to shield corporations from fraudulent actions such as incorporating the actions of forensic accounting in the control environment. Thus, this study also takes into account the utilization of services of forensic accounting as a way of decreasing frauds in firms particularly in retail firms operating in the UK.

The themes of White Collar Crime Theory, Fraud scale notions; Hollinger Clark Notion as well as Cressy Fraud Triangle Theory can help in exploring all the causes of the financial frauds as the foundation to prevention of various occurrences.

White Collar Crime Theory

As correctly mentioned by Gbegi and Adebisi (2014), white collar crime theory is credited with formulation and design of white collar crime theory. Essentially, the theory also argues that particularly crime is not a preserve of different poor individuals as earlier researchers suggested. In addition to this, Gbegi and Adebisi (2014) stated that the poverty was hardly ever to the white collar crimes and therefore is not the prime driver of crime. Again, the theory also attempts to assimilate the crime of white collar class belonging to the upper class with various economic as well as business activities. Essentially, the status of different professionals with a specific community generates an atmosphere of admiration and threats. There are different members of the community who admire professionals but are also fearful of tribulation in case if they provoke those individuals. Admiration along with fear of qualified professionals also leads to less harsher punishment for criminals belong to white collar class. In essence, the present theory suggests that the traditional system of criminal justice delivers less harsh punishment to criminals of the white collar class. As per this notion, crime is usually inculcated from diverse cross interaction with individuals already participating in various fraudulent actions. Othman et al. (2015) observed that criminal behaviour can be learned in relation to the ones who can define this kind of behaviour constructively and with remoteness to the ones who perceive this kind of behaviour to be unfavourable. As rightly indicated by Seda and Kramer (2015), the theory is primarily founded on the supposition that a individual belonging to the white collar class is likely to receive lenient sentence from respective court of law in comparison to the street criminals.

Fraud Triangle Theory

As rightly indicated by Rezaee and Wang (2017), the theory evaluates personal features of a fraudsters in association to fraud that is committed in the corporation. Rezaee et al. (2016) hypothesised particularly three different criteria for mainly criminal breaches of trust. Essentially, these comprised of non-sharable pecuniary issues, knowledge of functioning of a particular enterprise and opportunity to breach trust. This theory that was developed was referred to as the fraud triangle. The notion comprises of components that are perceived stress, presence of an opportunity and consequent rationale of the fraudulent action. Essentially, perceived pressure from different non sharable pecuniary requirement generates a motive for diverse fraud. Individuals might be encountering financial else wise other problems, for example, huge medical bills, victim of drug abuse, alcohol. The individual might perhaps be leading a very luxurious life that is not necessarily sustainable with their earnings. Again, sheer greed can also be an important factor and motivator behind fraud. Rezaee and Wang (2017) are of the view that opportunities are primarily created by weak system of internal control, bad management oversight and by means of exploitation of one’s position, power and authority. According to this notion, chances to commit fraud might happen in case of there is failure on the part of the management to implement adequate processes for detection of fraudulent actions.  As per the fraud triangle, chance can be considered as the only controllable factor by a specific business concern and the threat of probable detection can be regarded as an important facet of detection in the process of prevention of fraud. Again, rationalization can be regarded as a vital component in majority of cases of fraud. Fundamentally, the Fraud Triangle theory presents an effective conceptual model that has widely served as a help to assessors of fraud in comprehending various antecedents of fraud. Thorough research in this area of fraud revealed the fact that there existed specific conditions and circumstances of fraud triangle within various corporations where frauds have been carried out. Assessors of fraud have necessarily utilised the fraud triangle as a certain standard mechanism since the period of 1950s to comprehend motivations of fraudsters.

Agency theory

Agency theory can be considered as one of the most important theoretical structure that can guide the present study. This notion is extensively implemented in the literature of accounting to illustrate as well as predict the process of appointment along with external auditors’ and consultants’ performance. Agathee and Ramen (2017) argues that this concept also delivers an effective theoretical structure for studying functions of internal assessment. The concept of this theory also aids to elucidate and forecast the overall subsistence of internal audit together with the roles and accountabilities that are assigned to various internal assessors by the business concerns and that agency theory forecasts the way the function of internal assessment can get affected by the change in the organization. According to Bhasin (2015), agency theory illustrates business concerns as necessary framework to maintain agreements, and ways to exercise requisite controls that can minimize diverse opportunistic behaviour of different agents. In a bid to go with the interests of the agents as well as principles, an inclusive agreement is basically written for the purpose of addressing the agents’ as well as principles’ interests

Analysis of empirical evidences

Several scholars have made attempts to assess the influence of forensic auditing on particularly detection of fraud. For instance, Eutsler et al. (2016) assessed the influence of forensic accounting on particularly corporate fraud in manufacturing segment of Nigeria. The outcomes of the study reflected that corporate fraud can be considered is on the rise in this particular sector and the cause behind that is that majority of the manager intend to be independent at the expense of the employers. Majority of managers incorporate corporations that supply different products to their firms at high prices and in that way increase production costs.

Seda and Kramer (2015) analytically asessed about the effect of forensic accounting toward using specialized judgement, accounting skills, lawful processes to fight corporate liquidation. This study arrived at the conclusion that forensic accounting and forensic auditing can necessarily go great extent to influence diverse financial scandals in different business concerns. Eyisi and Ezuwore (2014) assert the roles and responsibilities of forensic auditors in fighting fraudulent actions, creation of distinction of forensic assessor and statutory assessor, features of forensic assessor and influence of forensic auditor on particularly corporate governance. In essence this paper concludes that forensic auditors have unquestionably enhanced accountability of management of firms, strengthened independence of external assessors and aided audit committee of firms in undertaking oversight functions by delivering assurance on report of internal audit. All these have exerted immense positive influence to particularly corporate governance, thereby decreasing the number of corporate failure along with impoverishment of financiers.

Imam et al. (2015) examined the efficacy of forensic auditing in the process of detection and prevention of bank that occurred in Zimbabwe. This study used questionnaires, review of documents, personal interviews to acquire information from different respondents in 13 different commercial banks, 4 building communities and 4 audit corporations. The study reflected that forensic auditing division lacked different material resources along with technical know-how. This study also concluded that forensic auditing is faced with interference from firm’s management.

Agathee and Ramen (2017) examined that forensic accounting along with financial frauds in particularly Nigeria using a sample survey with sample size of 143 comprising of accountants, staffs of management, auditors together with stakeholders. The results of binomial test for analysis of data revealed that there exists a considerable agreement amongst stakeholders on efficacies of forensic accounting in controlling fraud, reporting of pecuniary reports and quality of internal control.

Reports of scams in the retail sector of UK

Reports suggest that various scams in the retail came to light after a whistleblower signalled about the same in UK. In the case of Tesco Plc, there were artificially inflated approximations of profit and the same thing was found to have happened in prior periods as well. In addition to this, evidences of misstatement of around £60m were also discovered from earlier periods and that was majorly observed in the Irish operations (Asare et al. 2015). The SFO carried out investigations in association to the scandal and this lessened worth of the company. In addition to this, two members of Cheshnut Eight was suspended at the time when overstatement of profit was discovered by the probe. The Financial Reporting Council also initiated an investigation into the former chief financial officer of the company. The CFO was interviewed and questioned by SFO for investigating the matter, and after investigation he was not considered for trial. however, in this case, reports presented by Deloitte confirm that disbursements to supplier was pulled forward in a way that was not in line with the policies of accounting of Tesco. Again, similar practices in earlier period were highlighted that suggested that the sums that were pulled up grew with years. Thus, in this case forensic accounting could have been used for detection of fraud and for averting erosion of wealth of the shareholders of the firm.

The current study intends to establish the efficacy of services of forensic accounting in the process of prevention of fraud in retail sector operating in UK. The following suggestions can be put forward in association to forensic actions in the retail firm operating in UK:

• The retail firm need to stop depending on whistle blowing and in place of that need to take firm approach to detect as well as prevent incidences of fraud. In addition to this, in a bid to realise the potential and efficacy of forensic accounting, business concerns need to have distinctive framework with their operational departments for separating the roles as well as responsibilities of forensic accountant from that of the assessors. As such, this is also evident from different articles indicated in the study that the roles and responsibilities of the two are different and the two professionals need to complement each other and avoid clashing.
• Whilst forensic accountants operate proactively for preventing frauds from happening, business management have the need to foster a particular tone at higher echelon in association to frauds. This needs to be a part of the policy of the company and need to be communicated to the shareholders.
• Proper training needs to be undertaken for the management as well as other employees of the firm for they need to know what to search for in a bid to detect and prevent fraud.

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