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Financial Fraud Detection of Listed Companies in China: A Machine Learning Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Yasheng Chen

    (Department of Accounting, School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

  • Zhuojun Wu

    (Department of Accounting, School of Management, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China)

Abstract

As the focus of capital market supervision, financial report fraud has shown a development trend of enormous numbers, complex transactions, and hidden means in recent years. To improve audit efficiency and reduce the dependence on non-financial data, the study only uses the structured original data in the financial report to constructs a new fraud identification model, which can quickly detect fraud in China. This study takes the listed companies in China from 1998 to 2016 as research samples and selects 28 sets of raw data from financial reports. Then, this study compares the detection effectiveness of two single classification machine learning algorithms and five ensemble learning algorithms on fraud detection. Compared with single classification machine learning algorithms, the results show that ensemble learning algorithms are generally better at detecting fraud for Chinese listed companies, and the stacking algorithm performs the best. The study results provide direct evidence for rapid fraud detection using financial report raw data and ensemble learning algorithms. The study first proposes a stacking algorithm-based financial reporting fraud identification model for listed companies in China, which provides a simple and effective approach for investors, regulators, and management. It can also provide a reference for the detection of other fraud scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Yasheng Chen & Zhuojun Wu, 2022. "Financial Fraud Detection of Listed Companies in China: A Machine Learning Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:105-:d:1010523
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang Bao & Bin Ke & Bin Li & Y. Julia Yu & Jie Zhang, 2020. "Detecting Accounting Fraud in Publicly Traded U.S. Firms Using a Machine Learning Approach," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 199-235, March.
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    4. Lynnette Purda & David Skillicorn, 2015. "Accounting Variables, Deception, and a Bag of Words: Assessing the Tools of Fraud Detection," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 1193-1223, September.
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    8. Gérard Biau & Erwan Scornet, 2016. "A random forest guided tour," TEST: An Official Journal of the Spanish Society of Statistics and Operations Research, Springer;Sociedad de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, vol. 25(2), pages 197-227, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ludivia Hernandez Aros & Luisa Ximena Bustamante Molano & Fernando Gutierrez-Portela & John Johver Moreno Hernandez & Mario Samuel Rodríguez Barrero, 2024. "Financial fraud detection through the application of machine learning techniques: a literature review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.

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