An innovative approach in combating economic crime using forensic accounting techniques

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop an innovative approach of combating economic crime using the forensic accounting techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach considered the identification of the effective forensic accounting techniques from the available literature and also explored the anti-economic crime policy, capable of assisting in the combating of economic crime. This brought about the development of two conceptual models, which incorporate all the requirements for the implementation of forensic accounting and the integration of forensic accounting technique into the organizational control system for effective fraud mitigation.

Findings

The analysis of the literature review indicated that one of the drawbacks, which has continue to mitigate the implementation of forensic accounting as a tool for combating fraud is lack of a suitable framework. This was the major focal point of this work, which produced two simplified conceptual models suitable for effective fraud mitigation.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to the development of conceptual models for fraud mitigation only.

Practical implications

The simplified model can easily be adopted into the structure of an organization to provide a sustainable solution to mitigate fraud occurrences.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study lies in the development of two simplified conceptual models. The first model addressed the incorporation of forensic accounting into the organization structure while the second captured the detailed investigation and comprehensive data analysis processes of uncovering fraud. The development of conceptual models with all these peculiarities for fraud mitigation has not been widely reported by the existing literature.

Citation

Akinbowale, O.E., Klingelhöfer, H.E. and Zerihun, M.F. (2020), "An innovative approach in combating economic crime using forensic accounting techniques", Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 1253-1271. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-04-2020-0053