Regulating against False Corporate Accounting: Does the Companies Act 71 of 2008 Have Sufficient Teeth?

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Etienne A Olivier
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Accounting Fraud ◽  
The Public ◽  
Company Directors ◽  
Regulatory Approach ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms

This article questions whether the enforcement mechanisms in the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the Act) are adequate deterrents to financial reporting misconduct and whether they provide suitable sanctions to punish wrongdoers. The South African regulatory approach to company directors and financial reporting compliance places great emphasis on stakeholder protection and board accountability. By criminalising the publication of false financial statements, providing civil remedies to prejudiced stakeholders and robust protection for whistleblowers, empowering regulatory agencies to investigate allegations of accounting fraud and penalise transgressors, and by creating a broad net of liability for corporate decision-makers who allow or cause the publication of false financial reporting, the Act takes a firm stance that accounting fraud must be discouraged. The Act’s enforcement mechanisms in respect of financial reporting are commendable, but detection and enforcement will likely remain challenging unless a concerted effort is made to educate the public about financial reporting misconduct and its dangers, sufficient funding is provided to the regulatory agencies, consistent use is made of the available criminal, civil, and administrative remedies, and Parliament reconsiders the appropriateness of the maximum penalties for accounting fraud.

scholarly journals The Effect of Fraud Pentagon on Fraudulent Financial Statement of Banking in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-206
Author(s):  
Mega Arisia Dewi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Fraudulent Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
The Public ◽  
Company Directors ◽  
Fraudulent Financial Statements

This study aims to determine the effect of financial targets, financial stability, external pressure, effective monitoring, nature of industry, change in auditors, rationalization, change of company directors, CEO’s Picture on fraudulent banking financial statements in Indonesia for 2014-2019. This study uses the dependent variable, namely fraudulent financial reporting, while the independent variables are financial targets, financial stability, external pressure, effective monitoring, nature of industry, change in auditors, rationalization, competence and arrogance. The show that the variable financial targets, change in auditors, change of directors and CEO’s picture have no effect on the detection of fraudulent financial statements. Meanwhile, financial stability, external pressure, ineffective monitoring, nature of industry, and rationalization have an effect on the detection of fraud in financial reports for 2014-2019. The results of this study provide an understanding for the public and the general public that the government’s efforts so far have always played a major role in maintaining the condition of the Indonesian economy in order to avoid attempts to cheat financial statements.

Does Recent Academic Research Support Changes to Audit Reporting Standards?

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Bédard ◽  
Paul Coram ◽  
Reza Espahbodi ◽  
Theodore J. Mock
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
Market Participants ◽  
Information Gap ◽  
Public Company ◽  
Reporting Process

SYNOPSIS The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and the U.K. Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have proposed or approved standards that significantly change the independent auditor's report. These initiatives require the auditor to make additional disclosures intended to close the information gap; that is, the gap between the information users desire and the information available through the audited financial statements, other corporate disclosures, and the auditor's report. They are also intended to improve the relevancy of the auditor's report. We augment prior academic research by providing standard setters with an updated synthesis of relevant research. More importantly, we provide an assessment of whether the changes are likely to close the information gap, which is important to financial market participants and other stakeholders in the audit reporting process. Also, we identify areas where there seems to be a lack of sufficient research. These results are of interest to all stakeholders in the audit reporting process, as the changes to the auditor's report are fundamental. Additionally, our summaries of research on the auditor's report highlight where there is limited research or inconsistent results, which will help academics identify important opportunities for future research.

scholarly journals The Determinants of Audit Expectation Gap: An Empirical Study from Kingdom of Bahrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayed Ali Ahmed Alawi ◽  
Rami Mohammad Abu Wadi ◽  
Gagan Kukreja
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Expectation Gap ◽  
Audit Firms ◽  
National Bank

The research aims at identifying the determinants of audit expectation gap between the auditors and the users of financial statements in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This issue is noticed in many frauds or errors or illegal matters by the general public after every scam whether Enron and WorldCom from United States or Satyam and Punjab National Bank from India or Tesco and BHS from United Kingdom or Mobily from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As per International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), auditors are not responsible to detect each and every fraud or error or illegal act as it is the responsibility of management. However, auditors are expected to assess the possibility of an error or fraud to occur and assess risks of material misstatement due to error or fraud and they are supposed to express their independent and objective opinion on financial statements whether financial statements are prepared in accordance to suitable criteria (International Financial Reporting Standards in the case of Bahrain).This quantitative research and its descriptive design aims empirically to analyze determinants that may impact the audit expectation gap in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The study used a detailed questionnaire as a measuring instrument across the sample group to measure 4 determinants that are expected to have a significant impact on the level of the audit expectation gap. Those determinants are the efforts of auditors, the skills of auditors, the knowledge of the public about the audit profession and the users’ needs from auditors. The research inferred that identified factors found to have a significant impact on the level of audit expectation gap. It is recommended that audit firms should provide training to the audit staff that how to utilize the required efforts in conducting an audit engagement and go extra miles to fill the gap. Furthermore, the auditors should keep themselves updated about the latest frauds and the best audit practices. 

Does Investment-Related Pressure Lead to Misreporting? An Analysis of Reporting Following M&A Transactions

2012 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 839-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bens ◽  
Theodore H. Goodman ◽  
Monica Neamtiu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Probability Of Detection ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Announcement Returns ◽  
Reporting Decisions ◽  
The Face ◽  
Near Term

ABSTRACT This study examines whether managers alter their financial reporting decisions in the face of investment-related pressure. We define investment-related pressure as the increased pressure managers feel to retain their job following an M&A poorly received by the market. We hypothesize that managers attempt to assuage pressure by delivering strong performance post-merger, creating incentives for misreporting. Our findings indicate that acquirers with more negative M&A announcement returns are more likely to misstate financial statements in the post-investment period and the issuance of misstated financials mitigates this pressure, at least in the near term. Our study contributes to the literature on the relation between corporate investing and financial reporting by showing how investment-related pressure leads to misreporting, even in a setting where the costs (e.g., greater probability of detection) are high. Our study also has implications for the large body of research that evaluates various consequences of M&As using post-merger performance. Specifically, researchers should be careful to distinguish real from misstated financial performance in the post-investment period. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources indicated in the text.

scholarly journals Accounting practitioners’ views on the proposed “Micro GAAP”: A South African perspective

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hentie A. Van Wyk ◽  
Cobus Rossouw
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
The South ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
Accounting Practitioners ◽  
African Perspective

Even though the IFRS for SMEs does provide some relief in respect of the financial reporting burden for non-public entities, there still seems to be a need for an even lower level of financial reporting. In recent years South Africa embarked upon the development of a financial reporting framework for non-public entities and various versions of this so-called micro GAAP have been issued. However, the Accounting Practices Board raised some concerns about the then proposed micro GAAP. This article highlights the South African accounting practitioners’ views from different professional bodies on micro GAAP. They generally believe that micro GAAP will represent fair presentation and that the financial statements prepared under micro GAAP can still be regarded as general purpose financial statements. Furthermore, the majority of accounting practitioners believe that there is a definite need for a third tier of financial reporting in South Africa and indicated their preference of which entities may apply micro GAAP. Legal backing of micro GAAP is also considered appropriate by the practitioners.

scholarly journals Die staat van toegevoegde waarde as komponent van finansiele verslaggewing in die RSA

1991 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
A. P. Du Plessis ◽  
D. S. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
A Value ◽  
Information Contents

The value added statement as component of financial reporting in the RSA The value added statement was developed due to a need for more understandable financial information for the uninformed user of financial statements. Although not required by the Companies Act, since 1977 numerous South African companies have included a value added statement in their financial reports. The question can, however, be asked whether the inclusion of a statement of value added in financial reports will not put financial information at the disposal of a larger group of existing and potential users of financial statements. In such a case the inclusion of the statement should be made compulsory and the contents be standardized. During a study of the reasons for the publication and the presentation of the information of this statement by South African companies, it was found that companies probably publish this statement for the annual competitions for financial statements. The information contents of the statement is therefore disregarded.

scholarly journals The Message Conveyed By IFRS-Compliant Information: A South African Perspective

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1041
Author(s):  
Pieter Van der Zwan ◽  
Nico Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Reporting Standards ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Accounting Practitioners ◽  
African Perspective

South African companies must prepare financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or other reporting standards modelled on IFRS. Literature suggests that the complexity of IFRS, which stems from detailed rules-based principles in these standards, may harm the ability of users of financial statements to understand financial information in a meaningful way. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether selected users and preparers of financial statements in South Africa interpret selected IFRS-compliant information prepared in accordance with rules-based principles in the manner intended by the standard-setters. The results of the study, which are based on data gathered by administering a questionnaire that contained selected IFRS-compliant note disclosures to accounting practitioners, accountancy students, and non-accountants in business, suggest that the participants of the study did not understand such IFRS-compliant information as intended by the standard-setters. Additional disclosure, the adoption of a simplified accounting framework for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs) and the use of an output-based continuing professional education (CPE) system are identified as areas that warrant further research to overcome the threats posed by rules-based principles in IFRS.

scholarly journals Regulatory agencies and creative accounting practices in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-478
Author(s):  
Paul Olojede ◽  
Francis Iyoha ◽  
Ben-Caleb Egbide ◽  
Olayinka Erin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
External Control ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Creative Accounting ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
The Impact

Regulation and regulatory agencies are to serve as external control mechanisms to ensure that the financial statements provide a fair view of the company’s operating performance and financial position, free of any unethical practice and suitable for all stakeholders’ needs. Despite the increasing importance of regulatory agencies in enforcing compliance with the standards and laws, it occupies a limited space in accounting research. This study, therefore, investigated the impact of regulatory agencies on creative accounting practices. The study used descriptive and survey research design to achieve its aim. It employed a multi-stage sampling technique, also questionnaires were distributed among 405 respondents consisting of preparers of accounts, users of accounts, and regulators. Out of the number distributed, the respondents returned 241 copies, and all of them were found suitable. The study used Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) to analyze the data and test the hypothesis. The empirical findings showed that the regulatory agencies jointly show a significant impact on creative accounting practices, but the level of contribution to the overall impact by each regulatory agency varies. The study concludes that Nigeria’s regulatory agencies are weak and inefficient in enforcing compliance with the relevant rules. The study recommends that the institutional capacity of the regulatory agencies should be strengthened by enforcing compliance with financial reporting rules and regulation. Most of these agencies should develop capacity in the areas of manpower, information technology infrastructures, and funding. Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge Covenant University who has solely provided the platform for this research and has also fully sponsored the research cluster search for data across the country.

scholarly journals Audit Delay Analysis to Support the Effectiveness of Company’s Financial Reporting on Manufacturing Companies Listed On The Indonesia Stock Exchange

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Tjahjani Murdijaningsih ◽  
Siti Muntahanah
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Accounting Firm ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Right ◽  
Audit Reports

Every company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange is required to submit financial reports periodically. The financial statements shall be submitted no later than the end of the third month from the end date of the financial year. In reality, not all companies submit the right reports on time because of the audit reports, so that the company's financial reporting is not effective. Delays in financial reporting are closely related to audit delays. This study aims to analyze the factors that affect the time spent in auditing financial statements. The sample in this study were 15 real estate and property industrial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2013-2017. Determination of the sample in this study using the purposive sapling method. The analysis used is multiple regression analysis. The results showed that company size had no significant effect on audit delay. Meanwhile, profitability has a negative effect and the size of the public accounting firm has a significant positive effect on audit delay. The size of the company cannot determine the audit of the financial statements to improve the accuracy of the submission of financial statements. What must be paid more attention is the level of profitability and the public accounting firm that will be used.

scholarly journals The impact of latest changes in Financial Reporting on Stakeholders’ Confidence and Satisfaction.

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (07) ◽  
pp. 930-949
Author(s):  
Dr. Dolly Roy Choudhary ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Information ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Important Input ◽  
The Impact

This paper focuses on how the latest changes in corporate financial reporting have an impact on the stakeholders i.e. the shareholders, employees, management, creditors, auditors, suppliers, and the public in general. Financial information serves as an important input and guides for informed decision-making in an economic environment. The financial statements are one of the most important bases on which the internal and external stakeholders reach effective decisions. The idea of “General Purpose Financial Reporting” is directed to the common information needs of users and stakeholders. This study attempts to assess whether the stakeholder’s confidence and satisfaction are enhanced by the nature and extent of information that is made available to the stakeholders and the practices of corporate disclosure in annual accounts.

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