World Governance Indicators and Fraud: Evidence from One Belt One Road Countries

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of worldwide governance indicators and global competitiveness on the level of accounting fraud in One Belt One Road (OBOR) countries. We use publicly available data from various sources. We perform principal components analysis to reduce the six governance indicators to three governance indexes. Governance indicators have significant impact on fraud and the effect could be positive or negative depending on the dimensions involved. Voice and accountability and political stability show significant negative impact on the number of fraud cases. Competitiveness shows a positive but insignificant effect on the level of fraud cases. Democratic countries report lesser number of fraud cases. The findings should be read with caution because of the diversity in the countries in the sample. OBOR countries exhibit different governance models, which may affect their indicators and as a result, the extent of fraud cases reported may be influenced by the regime practiced by a country. The study considers the relevance of governance indicators to policymakers in dealing with rising level of fraud since fraudulent activities affect productivity. Fraud analysis should be embedded in the governance architecture of countries to stimulate development and mitigate the risks of bankruptcies, business failures and loss of investments. Contribution/Originality:The paper contributes to literature on fraud and forensic accounting theories by employing the institutional framework to highlight the occurrence of fraud in different settings. INTRODUCTIONIn recent times, forensic accounting, which focuses on fraud examination, investigation of bribery and corruption, business valuation, expert witness, cybercrime management/cyber security and litigation support (Crumbley, Heitger, & Smith, 2015) has emerged as a multi-faceted area. Concerns about the increasing rate of frauds the world over has led to a rise in the demand for forensic accounting (Rezaee & Wang, 2018). According to the 2018 Global Survey on occupational fraud and abuse, Report to the Nations issued by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), organizations lose around 5 percent of their total revenues to fraud each year.Applied to the 2017 estimated Gross World Product of USD 79.6 trillion, organizations suffer global fraud loss close to the tune of USD4 trillion (ACFE, 2018). "Fraud is a human endeavor, involving deception, purposeful intent, intensity of desire, risk of apprehension, violation of trust, rationalization" (Ramamoorti & Olson, 2007).This study examines the influence of governance infrastructure and global competitiveness on accounting fraud.