Financial Statement Fraud: Insights from the Academic Literature

SUMMARY: We summarize relevant academic research findings to contribute to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) project on financial statement fraud and to offer insights and conclusions relevant to academics, standard setters, and practitioners. We discuss the characteristics of firms committing financial statement fraud, as identified in the literature, and research related to the fraud triangle. We then discuss research related to the procedures and abilities of auditors to detect fraud, and how fraud risk assessments impact audit planning and testing. In addition, we discuss several “high risk” areas and other issues as identified by the PCAOB. Finally, we summarize prior findings and offer conclusions and suggestions for areas where future research is needed.