Detection of financial frauds: a challenge for accounting profession

Quality of business decision-making largely depends on the quality of information presented in financial statements. Despite the fact that the requirements of stakeholders are focused on reliable and efficient financial reporting with the aim to reduce the informational risks, a numerous examples of financial frauds are still present in business practice. The far-reaching consequences of financial frauds to which all business entities can be subjected to, regardless of its size, type of business and country in which they operate, have led to increase in the level of protection of stakeholders’ interests. Providing preconditions for financial reporting free from bias has been set as a primary task of regulatory bodies and professional organizations of accountants and auditors at national and international level. This paper introduces the concept of forensic accounting as a response of profession to fraud schemes that cause huge losses not only to the business entities, but also to the society as a whole. Taking into account the fact that fraud schemes bring into question the useful value of financial statements, this paper analyzes the key categories of financial frauds that are detected at a global level. The analysis is conducted from the aspect of causes of occurrence, perpetrators of frauds and detection methods