IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v95y2010i2p271-315.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corporate Fraud and Managers’ Behavior: Evidence from the Press

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey Cohen
  • Yuan Ding
  • Cédric Lesage
  • Hervé Stolowy

Abstract

Based on evidence from press articles covering 39 corporate fraud cases that went public during the period 1992-2005, the objective of this paper is to examine the role of managers' behavior in the commitment of the fraud. This study integrates the fraud triangle (FT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to gain a better understanding of fraud cases. The results of the analysis suggest that personality traits appear to be a major fraud risk factor. The analysis was further validated through a quantitative analysis of key words which confirmed that key words associated with the attitudes/rationalizations component of the integrated theory were predominately found in fraud firms as opposed to a sample of control firms. The results of the study suggest that auditors should evaluate the ethics of management through the components of the theory of planned behavior: the assessment of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and moral obligation. Therefore, it is potentially important that the professional standards that are related to fraud detection strengthen the emphasis on managers' behavior that may be associated with unethical behavior.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Cohen & Yuan Ding & Cédric Lesage & Hervé Stolowy, 2010. "Corporate Fraud and Managers’ Behavior: Evidence from the Press," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 271-315, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:95:y:2010:i:2:p:271-315
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-011-0857-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10551-011-0857-2
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-011-0857-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexander Dyck & Natalya Volchkova & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "The Corporate Governance Role of the Media: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(3), pages 1093-1135, June.
    2. Suraj Srinivasan, 2005. "Consequences of Financial Reporting Failure for Outside Directors: Evidence from Accounting Restatements and Audit Committee Members," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 291-334, May.
    3. Michael Weisbach, 2010. "Corporate Governance," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number weis10-1.
    4. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    5. Roger Martin, 2007. "Through the Ethics Looking Glass: Another View of the World of Auditors and Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 70(1), pages 5-14, January.
    6. Alexander Dyck & Adair Morse & Luigi Zingales, 2010. "Who Blows the Whistle on Corporate Fraud?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2213-2253, December.
    7. Pincus, Karen V., 1989. "The efficacy of a red flags questionnaire for assessing the possibility of fraud," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 14(1-2), pages 153-163, January.
    8. Jeffrey R. Cohen & Nonna Martinov Bennie, 2006. "The Applicability of a Contingent Factors Model to Accounting Ethics Research," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Agrawal, Anup & Chadha, Sahiba, 2005. "Corporate Governance and Accounting Scandals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(2), pages 371-406, October.
    10. NIAMH M. BRENNAN & MARY McGRATH, 2007. "Financial Statement Fraud: Some Lessons from US and European Case Studies," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 17(42), pages 49-61, July.
    11. Bergstresser, Daniel & Philippon, Thomas, 2006. "CEO incentives and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 511-529, June.
    12. Denis, David J. & Hanouna, Paul & Sarin, Atulya, 2006. "Is there a dark side to incentive compensation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 467-488, June.
    13. Efendi, Jap & Srivastava, Anup & Swanson, Edward P., 2007. "Why do corporate managers misstate financial statements? The role of option compensation and other factors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 667-708, September.
    14. Merle Erickson & Michelle Hanlon & Edward L. Maydew, 2006. "Is There a Link between Executive Equity Incentives and Accounting Fraud?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 113-143, March.
    15. Paul C. Tetlock, 2007. "Giving Content to Investor Sentiment: The Role of Media in the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(3), pages 1139-1168, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cohen, Jeffrey & Ding, Yuan & Lesage, Cedric & Stolowy, Hervé, 2008. "The role of managers’ behavior in corporate fraud," HEC Research Papers Series 900, HEC Paris.
    2. Dan Amiram & Zahn Bozanic & James D. Cox & Quentin Dupont & Jonathan M. Karpoff & Richard Sloan, 2018. "Financial reporting fraud and other forms of misconduct: a multidisciplinary review of the literature," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 732-783, June.
    3. Abdul Ghafoor & Rozaimah Zainudin & Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan, 2019. "Factors Eliciting Corporate Fraud in Emerging Markets: Case of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions in Malaysia," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 587-608, December.
    4. Haß, Lars Helge & Müller, Maximilian A. & Vergauwe, Skrålan, 2015. "Tournament incentives and corporate fraud," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 251-267.
    5. Zhou, Fangzhao & Zhang, Zenan & Yang, Jun & Su, Yunpeng & An, Yunbi, 2018. "Delisting pressure, executive compensation, and corporate fraud: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-34.
    6. Li, Xingli & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara & Glenn Walker, Marcus & Walker, Thomas John, 2016. "The determinants of IPO-related shareholder litigation: The role of CEO equity incentives and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 81-126.
    7. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    8. Chen, Jiandong & Cumming, Douglas & Hou, Wenxuan & Lee, Edward, 2013. "Executive integrity, audit opinion, and fraud in Chinese listed firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 72-91.
    9. Ray Ball, 2009. "Market and Political/Regulatory Perspectives on the Recent Accounting Scandals," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(2), pages 277-323, May.
    10. Call, Andrew C. & Kedia, Simi & Rajgopal, Shivaram, 2016. "Rank and file employees and the discovery of misreporting: The role of stock options," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 277-300.
    11. Jian Zhang, 2018. "Public Governance and Corporate Fraud: Evidence from the Recent Anti-corruption Campaign in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 375-396, March.
    12. Loyola, Gino & Portilla, Yolanda, 2020. "Managerial compensation as a double-edged sword: Optimal incentives under misreporting," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 994-1017.
    13. Ozili, Peterson K, 2018. "Advances and Issues in Fraud Research: A Commentary," MPRA Paper 84879, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Lars Helge Hass & Monika Tarsalewska & Feng Zhan, 2016. "Equity Incentives and Corporate Fraud in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 723-742, November.
    15. Zhang, Jian & Wang, Jialong & Kong, Dongmin, 2020. "Employee treatment and corporate fraud," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 325-334.
    16. Serena Gallo, 2021. "Fintech platforms: Lax or careful borrowers’ screening?," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-33, December.
    17. Hazarika, Sonali & Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Nahata, Rajarishi, 2012. "Internal corporate governance, CEO turnover, and earnings management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 44-69.
    18. Jian Zhang & Ningzhi Wang & Xinyu Zhu & Xiao Yi, 2024. "Does the supply of tax information affect financial restatements? Evidence from the launch of Taxation Administration Information System III in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    19. Gatot Soepriyanto & Engkos Achmad Kuncoro & Arfian Erma Zudana & Livia Averine, 2022. "Does Executive Compensation Affect Accounting Irregularities? Evidence From Listed Firms in Indonesia," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, July.
    20. Robert Jones & Yan Wu, 2010. "Executive compensation, earnings management and shareholder litigation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-20, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:95:y:2010:i:2:p:271-315. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.