scholarly journals What are Some Best Practices for Internal Controls to Prevent Occupational Fraud in Small Businesses?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Shao
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Occupational Fraud

Corruption as distinct crime: the need to reconceptualise internal control on controlling bureaucratic occupational fraud

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ach Maulidi ◽  
Jake Ansell
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Financial Statement Fraud ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Occupational Fraud ◽  
Asset Protection ◽  
Control Framework

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide theoretical guidance that enables local governments to deal with occupational fraud. Design/methodology/approach The quantitative approach is used to examine the efficacy of the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) internal control framework in tackling occupational fraud in local government. To achieve the goals, the authors performed a survey of the Indonesian auditor institutions. Findings It is not appropriate to argue that all types of local government fraud can be deterred by a single internal control. The study suggests that COSO internal controls are not effective for dealing with corruption cases. However, the authors do find the efficacy of those controls are obvious for controlling asset misappropriation and financial statement fraud. This result indicates that if the COSO internal control framework is only designed for routine financial control and asset protection, it significantly and negatively influences its efficacy to deal with occupational fraud. This study has both theoretical and managerial implications, discussed separately. Originality/value In the field of prevention, the authors cannot make generalised theories and approaches for dealing with occupational fraud. Whilst previous authors have offered fraud deterrents in terms of internal controls, they have failed to realise the need to understand their effectiveness for particular forms of fraud. This paper sheds light on the effectiveness of internal controls in achieving their goals. This has both practical applications and stimulates theoretical insights.

scholarly journals Takedown in Two Worlds: An Empirical Analysis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Urban ◽  
Joe Karaganis ◽  
Brianna L. Schofield
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Online Service ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Online Service Providers

In its nearly two decades of existence, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s “notice and takedown” process has become both a source of controversy and a primary means of addressing online copyright disputes. Yet there is little empirical research into the use of notice and takedown or its effectiveness. Because it depends on the private communications and actions of copyright holders, online service providers, and targets, notice and takedown operates largely within a difficult-to-study “black box.” This article contributes to the literature with an empirical look at two sets of takedown notices. It digests findings from two quantitative studies of takedown notices in the Lumen database, reported fully in the three-study report, Notice and Takedown in Everyday Practice (available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2755628), and peer-reviewed here. The first study, of notices sent to Google Web Search, shows a heavy reliance by large rightsholders on automated infringement detection and notification, and tends to support their assertions that they focus their enforcement resources on large-scale infringement. At the same time, 31% of these notices raised questions related to their accuracy and statutory compliance. The second study provides a snapshot of takedown as used by one set of smaller notice senders — individuals and small businesses sending to Google Image Search. In this study, notices were more likely to target social media sites, blogs, and personal websites, and 70% of the notices raised questions. While both studies revealed surprisingly high percentages of notices of questionable validity, the questions raised tended to differ. The automated notices in the first study predominantly exhibited issues identifying the works in question, while the notices sent by smaller rightsholders in the second study predominantly exhibited issues with the underlying claim. Accordingly, while notice sending appears to need improvement, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. Both “worlds” of notice sending need to be accommodated. We therefore suggest a set of voluntary best practices, educational efforts, and modest legal reforms directed to the different issues we observed.

2020 SEC risk alert provides guidance for private fund advisers

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54
Author(s):  
Kenneth Breen ◽  
Phara Guberman
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Expert Analysis ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The U.S

Purpose To analyze the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) June 2020 Risk Alert, which identified three categories of deficiencies that the SEC regularly finds in its reviews of advisers to private funds, in order to understand its guidance and recommend best practices. Design/methodology/approach The study discusses the categories of deficiencies that the SEC regularly finds in its reviews of private fund advisers, current SEC enforcement trends, and recommendations for disclosures, internal controls, policies and procedures. Findings The SEC will expect private funds to identify and remedy regular deficiencies in three primary categories: gaps in client and investor disclosures regarding conflicts of interest; deficiencies in disclosures related to fees and expenses; and issues with policies and procedures regarding the treatment of material nonpublic information. Practical implications Private fund advisers should expect increased scrutiny during examinations on the identified deficiencies and use this opportunity to be proactive in addressing these issues. Originality/value Expert analysis and guidance from experienced securities enforcement attorneys.

Cutting fraud losses in Canadian organizations

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Peltier-Rivest ◽  
Nicole Lanoue
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Background Checks ◽  
Occupational Fraud ◽  
Statistical Effect ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of various internal controls (i.e. hotlines, regular ethics (fraud) training, surprise audits, internal and external audits and background checks) on reducing occupational fraud losses by victim organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper, based on data from an occupational fraud report co-authored by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and Peltier-Rivest (2007), uses a multivariate regression analysis to analyze the effect of various internal controls on preventing fraud losses. Findings – The authors’ analyses demonstrate that hotlines, regular ethics (fraud) training, surprise audits and internal audits all decrease fraud losses when used separately. However, hotlines and surprise audits are the only statistically significant controls when controlling for the potential correlation among all internal controls. Hotlines are associated with a reduction of 54 per cent in median fraud losses, while surprise audits cut median losses by 69 per cent. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to academia and the anti-fraud profession by assessing the statistical effect of six internal controls on preventing fraud losses, while controlling for the potential correlation among these controls. Practical implications – This study discusses the relative benefits (loss savings) of various internal controls to organizations, governments, managers and anti-fraud professionals. This information may help determine investment priorities in the context of scarce resources. Originality/value – This paper is based on proprietary data owned by the ACFE and is the first to analyze the statistical significance of various internal controls on the reduction of fraud losses in Canada.

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