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With the increasing prevalence of awards for reporting fraudulent activity, it is important to learn if there are unintended consequences associated with the language offering such awards. Aside from issues regarding submitting unsubstantiated claims of fraud to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Section 922 of the Dodd–Frank Act may inadvertently encourage would-be whistleblowers to delay reporting fraud. Potential whistleblowers may choose to delay reporting due to the consideration of alternatives to external reporting, in a misguided attempt to increase the size of an award, or due to their ethical stance on the issues. Using a three-stage mixed methods (experiment, open-ended interviews, and experiment) approach, this study provides evidence that increased knowledge of statutes involving external whistleblowing may result in reporting delays. The data suggest that despite statements from the SEC forbidding this, managers may choose to delay reporting when under the threshold necessary to receive an award. In such a manner, managers may be allowing the fraud to grow to a necessary perceived level over time. As might be expected, the accountants in this study were more cautious, checking to see if internal reporting worked first. Of particular note, 16 individuals indicated that they would never report, with the motivation apparently driven by fear of job loss and/or retaliation. Lastly, the intention to delay or speed up reporting may be very different based on the perception of ethics involved in the decision.

Professionals who carry out the forensic accounting profession must have an extensive knowledge of accounting, as well as an effective knowledge of law, auditing, internal audit, business management, psychology, crime science, and, in particular, computer technologies. In today’s digital business environment, it has become difficult to identify fraudulent transactions with traditional methods. Developments in information (data) and information technology have helped increase anti-fraud control programs and fraud research opportunities. In particular, fraudulent financial reporting disrupts the reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of financial markets in terms of existence and continuity. The forensic accounting profession has been able to improve the effectiveness of inspections by using big data techniques, data analytics, and algorithms (Rezaee, Lo, Ha, & Suen, 2016; Seda & Kramer, 2014; Singleton & Singleton, 2010).

The aim of the author, in this chapter, is to evaluate the contribution of using big data techniques in forensic accounting applications and the skills that will be provided to students while integrating these techniques in forensic accounting trainings. For this purpose, studies on forensic accounting education and their applications were reviewed. In addition, opinions were evaluated by considering the relevant literature about the importance of big data, benefits of big data, use of big data techniques, and interest shown of them.

Due to the developments in information technologies, new concepts and practices have emerged in the field of accounting and auditing. One of these concepts is the concept of Forensic Accounting. Forensic accounting acts as a bridge between law and accounting sciences. Academic strutting about forensic accounting carried out in Turkey is increasing every day. In this study, we aim to examine the views of Turkish accounting academicians about skills of forensic accountant. Within this scope, we investigate whether there is any difference in views of Turkish accounting academicians by their gender, title, age, experience and university department (faculty, vocational school, etc.). Survey was sent to 543 Turkish accounting academicians via e-mail. 80 responses were used as data. Data analysis was made in SPSS Statistics 17.0. Means, standard deviations and percentages were computed for items related to skills of forensic accountant. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to analyse whether there was any difference in views of Turkish accounting academicians by their gender, title, age, experience and university department. According to findings, the skills rated as most important by Turkish academicians are, respectively, deductive analysis, critical thinking and unstructured problem solving. The skills rated as least important by Turkish academicians are, respectively, oral communication, investigative flexibility and analytical proficiency. There is a significant difference in rating of the importance of critical thinking, investigative flexibility, analytical proficiency and written communication by gender and there is a significant difference in rating of the importance of deductive analysis, unstructured problem solving and composure by experience year as academician.

Extant theory tends to treat Organizational Culture (OC) and fraud-related values as static, characterizing culture as synonymous with potential ethical values − but devoting less attention to how the culture and values arose and where they are headed. Buffer/conduit theory proposes that accountants learn to use a taxonomy containing three dynamic layers: collective fraud orientation, a buffer/conduit layer, and individual fraud orientation. The middle layer contains OC-related internal controls that buffer the orientation layers from spreading fraud-encouraging values, and serve as conduits transmitting fraud-deterring values − or, when controls do not function as intended, transmitting fraud-encouraging values. A factor analysis of 11 indicators of this three-layer taxonomy suggests that older generations of accounting practitioners apply the taxonomy, but millennials do not. Predisposition to commit fraud is especially salient to internally focused millennials, who uniquely perceive recruitment and training as compensating mechanisms and as collective buffers.

This study takes the position that the concept of fraud is socially constructed. Moreover, it asks why and how different understandings of fraud have emerged. Insights from the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1999, 2003; Lakoff, 2002, 2004, 2009) are used to analyze language revealing dominant worldviews and metaphors regarding fraud. The research method is a case study (Yin, 2014), and the analytical approach used parallels the one described in O’Dwyer (2004). The research setting is a report issued by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which provides a context to study different understandings of fraud due to the report’s divided nature. The analysis reveals three alternative worldviews, representing different assumptions about reality, that are at the root of the different understandings of fraud. These worldviews also lead to the usage of different conceptual metaphors which allow the commissioners to interpret facts in a manner that supports each worldview’s assumptions. The paper also concludes by providing a nuanced and critical examination of the results of the commission concerning its understanding of fraud.