Fraud within and against the Commonwealth: the most harmful frauds, 2016-17 to 2018-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coen Teunissen ◽  
Russell Smith
Keyword(s):  
Internal Controls ◽  
Third Party ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Clearance ◽  
Australian Institute ◽  
Current Report ◽  
Lack Of Knowledge

Fraud threats facing the Commonwealth arise principally from two areas: individuals employed by the Commonwealth or contractors (internal fraud); and customers/clients of the Commonwealth, third-party providers, vendors, or members of the public, in Australia or overseas (external fraud). The current report presents the information about the most harmful internal and external frauds committed against the Commonwealth in 2018–19, compared with those reported in 2016–17 and 2017–18. Data come from finalised fraud investigations that were reported by Commonwealth entities in response to the Australian Institute of Criminology’s annual fraud census. The findings show that losses from both the most harmful internal and external frauds were lower in 2018–19 than in 2017–18. In 2018–19, 44 percent of respondents identified the most harmful internal fraud perpetrator as having been employed with the entity for longer than seven years. The majority of the most harmful internal frauds were committed by individuals with either no security clearance or an unknown clearance status. In 2018–19, a higher proportion of perpetrators received a sentence of imprisonment following conviction for the most harmful external frauds than internal frauds. In 2018–19, the most common fraud control weaknesses identified were perpetrators overriding existing internal controls and the lack of knowledge concerning fraud risks.

Real Earnings Management before and after Reporting SOX 404 Material Weaknesses

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuukka Järvinen ◽  
Emma-Riikka Myllymäki
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
Public Disclosure ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Material Weaknesses ◽  
Internal Control System ◽  
Before And After

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this study is to investigate whether SOX Section 404 material weaknesses manifest in real earnings management behavior. The empirical findings indicate that, compared to companies with effective internal controls, companies with existing material weaknesses in their internal controls engage in more manipulation of real activities (particularly inventory overproduction). This implies that the weak commitment by management to provide effective internal control system and high-quality financial information relates to a tendency to use real earnings management methods. Moreover, we find evidence suggesting that companies employ real earnings management (overproduction and reduction of discretionary expenses) after disclosing previous year's material weaknesses. We conjecture that the public disclosure of material weaknesses induces management to strive to mitigate the expected negative reactions of stakeholders to the disclosure by engaging in real earnings management, which is not easily detected or constrained by outsiders. Overall, this study suggests that material weaknesses in internal controls signal an environment where management is more inclined to employ real earnings management.

The Search for Order in Municipal Administration: Herman A. Metz and the New York City Experience, 1898–1909

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-74
Author(s):  
Ryan P. McDonough ◽  
Paul J. Miranti ◽  
Michael P. Schoderbek
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
York City ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Financial Reports ◽  
The Public ◽  
Operational Activities ◽  
The City

ABSTRACT This paper examines the administrative and accounting reforms coordinated by Herman A. Metz around the turn of the 20th century in New York City. Reform efforts were motivated by deficiencies in administering New York City's finances, including a lack of internal control over monetary resources and operational activities, and opaque financial reports. The activities of Comptroller Metz, who collaborated with institutions such as the New York Bureau of Municipal Research, were paramount in initiating and implementing the administrative and accounting reforms in the city, which contributed to reform efforts across the country. Metz promoted the adoption of functional cost classifications for city departments, developed flowcharts for improved transaction processing, strengthened internal controls, and published the 1909 Manual of Accounting and Business Procedure of the City of New York, which laid the groundwork for transparent financial reports capable of providing vital information about the city's activities and subsidiary units. JEL Classifications: H72, M41, N91. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.

Health Care

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Pestieau ◽  
Mathieu Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Medical Expenditure ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Care Systems

This chapter reviews the public health care systems as well as their challenges. It first shows how expenditure on health care has evolved in previous decades and deals with the reasons for the growth observed in almost every European country. It emphasizes the role of technological progress as a main explanatory factor of the increase in medical expenditure but also points to the challenges facing cost-containment policies. Especially, the main common features of health care systems in Europe, such as third-party payment, single provider approach and cost-based reimbursement are discussed. Finally the chapter shows that although inequalities in health exist in the population, health care systems are redistributive. Reforms are thus needed but the trade-off between budgetary efficiency and equity is difficult.

scholarly journals Third Party Certification of Agri-Food Supply Chain Using Smart Contracts and Blockchain Tokens

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 5307
Author(s):  
Ricardo Borges dos Santos ◽  
Nunzio Marco Torrisi ◽  
Rodrigo Palucci Pantoni
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
The Public ◽  
Blockchain Technology

Every consumer’s buying decision at the supermarket influences food brands to make first party claims of sustainability and socially responsible farming methods on their agro-product labels. Fine wines are often subject to counterfeit along the supply chain to the consumer. This paper presents a method for efficient unrestricted publicity to third party certification (TPC) of plant agricultural products, starting at harvest, using smart contracts and blockchain tokens. The method is capable of providing economic incentives to the actors along the supply chain. A proof-of-concept using a modified Ethereum IGR token set of smart contracts using the ERC-1155 standard NFTs was deployed on the Rinkeby test net and evaluated. The main findings include (a) allowing immediate access to TPC by the public for any desired authority by using token smart contracts. (b) Food safety can be enhanced through TPC visible to consumers through mobile application and blockchain technology, thus reducing counterfeiting and green washing. (c) The framework is structured and maintained because participants obtain economical incentives thus leveraging it´s practical usage. In summary, this implementation of TPC broadcasting through tokens can improve transparency and sustainable conscientious consumer behaviour, thus enabling a more trustworthy supply chain transparency.

scholarly journals The platformisation of public service broadcasting in Germany: The network ‘funk’ and the case of Druck/Skam Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-144
Author(s):  
Sven Stollfuß
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Service Broadcasting ◽  
Web Series ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
German Adaptation

This article investigates how platformisation changes the practices of content production and distribution through the case of the web series, Druck (tr. Pressure (2018–), for the public service content network ‘funk’ (ARD and ZDF). An analysis of the German adaptation of the Norwegian television and web series Skam (tr. Shame) (NRK3, 2015–2017) shows how public service broadcasting (PSB) in Germany is changing due to the influence of social media. To reach a younger audience, PSB has to meet them on third-party platforms. Consequently, PSB must provide content that fits the mobile media environment of social media.

End-User-Driven Approach for Regulatory Compliance in the Public Cloud

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Jitendra Singh ◽  
Vikas Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Present State ◽  
Business Groups ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Expert Advice ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Public Cloud ◽  
End User ◽  
The Public ◽  
Limited Budget

Regulatory compliance is equally binding on small and medium business groups. Owing to the small scale and limited budget, such SMBs are unable to seek expert advice. To adequately guard the SMBs in regulatory compliance, the present work proposed a third-party managed-end user-driven approach that renders the list of regulatory acts applicable in one's case according to the country of one's residence, services subscribed, and type of the operations to be carried out in subscribed cloud paradigm. The list of applicable regulatory acts are rendered at the subscriber's end only. In addition, the proposed method notifies the present state of compliance of under-considered cloud providers. Based on the recommendation received, the subscriber can proceed with his decision to subscribe or not to subscribe in the event if desired compliances do not exist. This technological assistance will eliminate the need to possess the required knowledge in regulatory acts or seeking advice from the regulatory expert.

Future uncertainties for preserving tweets: Peoples’ perceptions in Japan

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110373
Author(s):  
Ryo Shiozaki
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Media Content ◽  
Privacy Rights ◽  
The Public ◽  
Logistic Analysis ◽  
Hypothetical Scenario ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys ◽  
National Libraries

Social media content includes an unprecedented number of personal documents reflecting our time. Few countries or regions have established legal grounds for securing long-term access to these documents, while paper-based publications have been exhaustively accumulated under legal deposit systems. However, archiving social media through national libraries, as a sort of state intervention, could bring about chilling effects on free speech in unexpected ways. The article aims to present empirical data of public concerns concerning social media content, focusing on Twitter’s public tweets archived by third parties, through two questionnaire surveys involving university students (Research I) and the public (Research II). The surveys were designed based on three settings: researchers, organisations to which the respondents belong and the National Diet Library in Japan. Consequently, approximately 30% and 47% of the respondents in Research I ( n = 197) and II ( n = 728), respectively, disagreed with any hypothetical scenario. An ordered logistic analysis to reveal the inter-relations of variables suggests the existence of other factors; thus, neither variables related to Twitter/Internet use nor demographic variables influenced people’s perceptions of the archival issue. While protecting privacy rights and copyrights was the primary reason for disagreements regarding third-party archival of tweets, many respondents intuitively displayed a negative reaction without any specific reason. Those who question its value and feel uncomfortable with an authoritative intervention were also identified. To nurture acceptant attitudes, advocating the archival of personal documents and adopting more restrictive archival procedures like taking down posts and anonymisation, public debates on the intervention of public bodies and demonstration of archival values should be considered.

scholarly journals The ‘No-Alternative Scenario’ in the Alternative Analysis of NEPA

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Kalpana Murari
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
The Public

Environmental impact assessment report is the primary document required to assess sustainable issues of any business/commercial activity, but it is most often overlooked for serious anomalies in its presentation to the public. It is most often incomplete and there is a need to review the standards of impact assessment procedures that help preserve environmental integrity among developing nations. The absence of sanctions for improper assessment of environmental, social and economic impacts of commercial activities, including extraction of natural resources by domestic and multinational corporations undermines sustainable development across the globe. The procedures in place to study various impacts of a business activity that enable access to genuine, verifiable and actionable information by the public require review and oversight by a third-party institution. The standardization of procedures and universal harmonization of enforcement and compliance regulations by nations has to become a topic for debate at various academic levels to gain importance. Essentially, EIA reports in large infrastructure projects serve as a blueprint for low carbon economies. Developing nations ignore vital provisions relating to the listing and analysis of alternatives in their attempt to meet developmental goals. Environmental protection is to maintain the ecological integrity of habitats and ecosystems. EIA reports, ultimately, aim at conserving and replenishing the reserves of natural resources. Judicial law has played an important role in highlighting the importance of alternatives in EIA. It is therefore important as how developing nations use the provision for the alternative analysis within their environmental laws. This paper will discuss EIA under the auspices of International law relating it to Sustainable Development. It shall emphasize the significance of providing alternatives in large infrastructure projects that have enviro-social impacts including transboundary effects and how the use of “no-action” alternative helps preserve and conserve a nation’s resources, reducing negative impacts Keywords: NEPA, CEQ, Impact Assessment, Alternatives Assessment, Alternatives Analysis, no-action alternative, hydropower, mega dams.

scholarly journals Design and development of a secure certificateless proxy signature based (SE-CLPS) encryption scheme for cloud storage

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Ms. K. Sudharani ◽  
Dr. N. K. Sakthivel
Keyword(s):  
Computational Cost ◽  
Public Key Cryptography ◽  
True Positive Rate ◽  
Proxy Signature ◽  
Attack Detection ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Public Key ◽  
Secret Key ◽  
True Negative ◽  
The Public

Certificateless Public Key Cryptography (CL-PKC) scheme is a new standard that combines Identity (ID)-based cryptography and tradi- tional PKC. It yields better security than the ID-based cryptography scheme without requiring digital certificates. In the CL-PKC scheme, as the Key Generation Center (KGC) generates a public key using a partial secret key, the need for authenticating the public key by a trusted third party is avoided. Due to the lack of authentication, the public key associated with the private key of a user may be replaced by anyone. Therefore, the ciphertext cannot be decrypted accurately. To mitigate this issue, an Enhanced Certificateless Proxy Signature (E-CLPS) is proposed to offer high security guarantee and requires minimum computational cost. In this work, the Hackman tool is used for detecting the dictionary attacks in the cloud. From the experimental analysis, it is observed that the proposed E-CLPS scheme yields better Attack Detection Rate, True Positive Rate, True Negative Rate and Minimum False Positives and False Negatives than the existing schemes.   

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