A Study on Fraud Auditing and Its Implications for the Forensic Accounting Process

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of certified public accountants regarding the contribution of the proposed legal, educational, and technological regulations in the field of forensic accounting to the prevention and detection of fraud.
Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey design was employed in the study. The questionnaire consisted of demographic questions and 25 five-point Likert-type items measuring perceptions toward legal, educational, and technological regulations in forensic accounting. Since the data did not follow a normal distribution, non-parametric statistical methods such as the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for data analysis.
Results – The findings indicate that participants generally hold high perceptions regarding legal and educational regulations in forensic accounting, while perceptions toward technological regulations are more selective. Although statistically significant differences were observed across certain demographic variables, the effect sizes of these differences were found to be small to moderate.
Discussion – The results do not aim to identify the objective effects of forensic accounting regulations on fraud, but rather to reveal how such regulations are perceived and adopted by accounting professionals. In this respect, the study provides perception-based and guiding insights for policymakers and professional bodies involved in the institutionalization of forensic accounting practices.