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1 – 10 of over 2000Corruption, broadly defined as ‘the abuse of public power for private gain’ is extremely harmful to any community. It threatens economic growth, social development, consolidation…
Abstract
Corruption, broadly defined as ‘the abuse of public power for private gain’ is extremely harmful to any community. It threatens economic growth, social development, consolidation of democracy and the national morale. Politically, it creates situations of potential instability by destroying trust and confidence, for when an administration loses its credibility a climate for instability, unrest and general lawlessness is created. Economically, corruption stifles private initiative and enterprise, and the huge kickbacks and commissions demanded may act as disincentives to investment whether by foreign or local entrepreneurs. Corruption often goes hand in hand with other criminal practices, for example money laundering, drug trafficking and organised crime, which may threaten a legitimate economy. Corruption thus negatively impacts on practices of productivity and performance as well as efforts to bring about recovery and development.
This paper examines the role of professional associations, governmental agencies, and international accounting and auditing bodies in promulgating standards to deter and detect…
Abstract
This paper examines the role of professional associations, governmental agencies, and international accounting and auditing bodies in promulgating standards to deter and detect fraud, domestically and abroad. Specifically, it focuses on the role played by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the US Government Accounting Office (GAO), and other national and foreign professional associations, in promulgating auditing standards and procedures to prevent fraud in financial statements and other white‐collar crimes. It also examines several fraud cases and the impact of management and employee fraud on the various business sectors such as insurance, banking, health care, and manufacturing, as well as the role of management, the boards of directors, the audit committees, auditors, and fraud examiners and their liability in the fraud prevention and investigation.
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The aims of this paper are threefold: first, to present a brief description of the history and work of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC); secondly, to…
Abstract
The aims of this paper are threefold: first, to present a brief description of the history and work of the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC); secondly, to emphasise the importance of international liaison and cooperation as a strategy to transcend jurisdictional barriers in the fight against corruption and corruption‐related crime; and, thirdly, to reconfirm the ICAC's continued role in and commitment to that strategy beyond 1997.
Adam Graycar and Adam B. Masters
Corruption undermines good governance. Strategies for preventing malfeasance in low-corruption environments require a different approach to that applied in high-corruption…
Abstract
Purpose
Corruption undermines good governance. Strategies for preventing malfeasance in low-corruption environments require a different approach to that applied in high-corruption environments. This paper aims to ask if criminological theories and practice contribute to the study and prevention of corruption in public organizations? Do crime prevention techniques help us in preventing corruption?
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of public officials in rich countries demonstrate high levels of integrity; yet, significant sums are invested in anti-corruption agencies and prevention strategies. This paper reports on recent work with an anti-corruption agency, which forced us to re-think how to deliver an anti-corruption agenda in a low-corruption environment. The authors build on their research of public sector corruption in rich countries to develop a set of 20 situational corruption prevention measures for public administrators.
Findings
The result, with lessons from crime prevention, is a prevention tool to support continued good governance in low-corruption environments. Figure 1 is a template that readers can apply in their own environments. Figure 2 is the authors’ attempt to populate this template based on the research reported here.
Originality/value
The matrix of situational corruption prevention techniques provides two original approaches. First, it recasts the language of crime prevention into a non-confrontational approach to avoid alienating honest public officials. Second, the matrix incorporates common public sector functions to guide the development of context specific corruption prevention techniques.
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The effect of corruption in South Africa has seriously constrained development of the national economy and has significantly inhibited good governance in the country. South…
Abstract
The effect of corruption in South Africa has seriously constrained development of the national economy and has significantly inhibited good governance in the country. South Africa's complex political design is a contributing factor to the rise of corruption, which has adversely affected stability and trust and which has damaged the ethos of democratic values and principles. Although the South African government has been instrumental in systems to fight the evils of corruption, practical problems have increasingly emerged over the years. The most notable problems are: insufficient coordination of anti‐corruption work within the South African public service and among the various sectors of society; poor information about corruption and the impact of anti‐corruption measures and agencies; and the impact of corruption on good governance. This paper is a part of a broader study undertaken on corruption. It addresses issues related to corruption and good governance in the South African (National) Public Service. To articulate and analyse the challenges confronting the country, issues regarding coordination of anti‐corruption agencies will be explored.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an adequate account of anti-corruption agency (ACA) ineffectiveness and propose the kind of ACA that would hold the promise of success. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an adequate account of anti-corruption agency (ACA) ineffectiveness and propose the kind of ACA that would hold the promise of success. The paper draws on legitimacy theory, legal process and the notion of integrity of purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper contextualizes the establishment and proliferation of ACAs; explores different ways of conceptualizing them; examines the broad range of factors that have underpinned ACA ineffectiveness and utilizes both legitimacy theory and the notion of the integrity of purpose.
Findings
The one-ACA-model-fits-all approach in corruption-control has been an abysmal failure. Disentangling the reasons for ACA ineffectiveness reveals various endogenous and exogenous factors. It also emphasizes the crucial importance of integrating both legitimacy theory and integrity of purpose in a revamped ACA concept that meets the corruption-control challenge.
Practical implications
It is possible to design and implement an effective ACA by avoiding various factors that have been shown to seriously undermine corruption control efforts by also drawing on legitimacy theory, legal process and integrity of purpose.
Social implications
Corruption in both the public and private sectors cannot be controlled in isolation from other socio-economic problems. An effective ACA is one that fosters integrity and is considered legitimate by its stakeholders.
Originality/value
While there have been some articles the past two decades discussing the effectiveness of ACAs in particular countries, this is the first paper to account for the overall ACA ineffectiveness also using legitimacy theory, legal process and integrity of purpose to revamp the ACA concept.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the five mistakes made by political leaders in Asian countries in combating corruption. These mistakes constitute the cycle of failure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the five mistakes made by political leaders in Asian countries in combating corruption. These mistakes constitute the cycle of failure which must be broken for Asian countries to succeed in fighting corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption measures adopted by various Asian countries.
Findings
The cycle of failure in combating corruption in Asian countries arises from their governments’ reliance on corrupt political leaders and the police, and multiple anti-corruption agencies as attack dogs or paper tigers.
Originality/value
This paper would be of interest to those policymakers, anti-corruption practitioners, and scholars, who are concerned with enhancing the effectiveness of anti-corruption strategies in their countries by breaking the cycle of failure.
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In recognition of corruption as a major obstacle to the development processes of poor countries, the search for effective strategies in combating the phenomenon in developing…
Abstract
Purpose
In recognition of corruption as a major obstacle to the development processes of poor countries, the search for effective strategies in combating the phenomenon in developing countries has become a major preoccupation of the international donor community, particularly since the early 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of “political will” in combating corruption in Hong Kong, Singapore and Ghana with the view to drawing significant lessons for all developing and transition countries in their anticorruption crusades.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings in this paper are based on an extensive review of relevant literature and personal experiences in Ghana.
Findings
This paper concludes that controlling corruption in a sustained manner requires a consistent demonstration of genuine commitment on the part of the top political elite towards the eradication of the menace. Where the commitment of the top political leadership to the goal of eradicating corruption in a country is weak, as has been the case in Ghana, governments are only likely to engage in “zero tolerance for corruption” talk but continue to play a “tolerant corruption” game. Anticorruption reforms, in this regard, are bound to fail.
Practical implications
The paper highlights a number of lessons from the successful anticorruption crusades of Singapore and Hong Kong that are significant for Ghana and other developing countries in their fight against corruption. These include the need for anticorruption reform initiatives to be participatory and inclusive of all stakeholders including public and private sectors as well as civil society; the need to provide adequate budgets and staff for specialized anticorruption agencies and grant them independence in the execution of their mandates; and the need to establish effective mechanisms for: providing positive incentives for those who comply with anticorruption laws; and exposing and sanctioning compromised individuals and institutions.
Originality/value
Whilst studies on the role of political will in combating corruption in developing countries abound, most of these have either not provided in‐depth country experiences or relied on single country cases. One major departure of this paper from extant literature is its cross‐country comparative nature.
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The main purpose of this paper is to critically examine the impact of black money whitening opportunity on the Bangladesh housing market and its ramifications for honest taxpayers…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to critically examine the impact of black money whitening opportunity on the Bangladesh housing market and its ramifications for honest taxpayers and criminal conduct of the people in the country.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper relies on both primary and secondary materials and carries out an archival analysis of the resources available in libraries and online databases.
Findings
It demonstrates that black money whitening opportunity has failed to create additional demands for housing property, rather it encourages money laundering, corruption and other criminal activities. Hence, a set of specific recommendations have been submitted to effectively deal with the prevention of generation of black money instead of allowing them to be invested in properties with impunity.
Research limitations/implications
The discussions are concentrated on the legality of offering amnesty to black money holders and the impact of such indemnities on the housing market in Bangladesh; hence, it does not consider impacts on other economic sectors. It is expected that the publication of this paper will stimulate the government of Bangladesh to discontinue the disputed amnesty in Bangladesh, and other nations having similar problems with black money will be encouraged to follow suit.
Practical implications
It is anticipated that the implementation of the recommendations furnished in this paper will contribute to significantly decreasing money laundering, corruption and other offences involving money in Bangladesh and in other countries.
Social implications
Prevention of corruption and other financial crimes.
Originality/value
This paper represents its originality in its critical analysis of frequent offerings of the opportunity for whitening black money and their unfair impacts on honest taxpayers and resultant stimulation for engaging in money laundering, corruption and other felonies. It evidently justifies the assumption that such amnesties to wrongdoers are contrary to the national constitution, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering legislation and they wound the sense of ethical behaviour of human beings. Moreover, it proves the hypothesis that such opportunities being offered to black money holders have no positive contribution towards creating additional demands in the country’s property markets.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors explaining the success of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the challenges which it faces in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors explaining the success of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the challenges which it faces in maintaining that success.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilising a review of primary and secondary sources, a syndrome of success characteristics is developed and analysed against a backdrop of recent high-level scandals involving corruption and unethical behaviour.
Findings
The paper concludes that the institutionalisation of key structures and processes has enabled the ICAC to perform successfully to date but that the prospect of political interference may represent a significant future challenge.
Originality/value
Although there has been widespread attention to ICAC success factors, some important features have been neglected and little academic attention has been devoted to recent political challenges to its position.
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