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The purposes of this paper are to highlight those topics of forensic accounting that have received little or no attention in the forensic accounting research that has been published in forensic accounting research journals; discover what research methods have been most commonly used; and identify research methods that have been infrequently used.

This is a descriptive research study that explores the topics and methods used in forensic accounting research published in forensic accounting journals.

Fraud and quantitative methods make up the largest percentage of topics and research methods published in forensic accounting journals.

Limited to forensic accounting journals. Results suggest forensic accounting researchers are using mimetic topics and methods of accounting research. The absence of diversity in forensic accounting research topics and methods has the potential to compromise the overall contribution of forensic accounting research.

This paper identifies gaps in topics and research methods in forensic accounting research to encourage research in diverse topics using diverse methods that will be valuable to forensic accountants.

This original research is the first to survey and classify research published in forensic accounting journals according to topic and method.

The purpose of this paper is to determine if there is a level of agreement among accounting academics, auditors, and forensic accountants that the current environmental framework created by regulatory and standard setting bodies appears to require a merger of common ground between forensic accounting and auditing.

A survey in the USA is conducted for a random sample of accounting academics, forensic accounting practitioners, and auditors questioning if the addition of forensic accounting proficiency should be part of an auditor's skill set to increase the probability of detecting fraud.

The results indicate that forensic accounting has a place in the audit process and that auditors may need to add some of these skills as the market for audits have changed.

The limitation of the current paper which is inherent to survey research is non‐response bias. The only way to evaluate this is to test late responses and compare them to earlier results. There are no significant differences. Future research in this area should progress to experimental designs using foundational forensic procedures in a simulated audit setting to ascertain the success and the proper implementation of these skills in finding financial statement fraud.

This paper will increase auditor awareness of the importance of the acquisition of foundational forensic accounting skills that will enhance the likelihood of fraud detection.

Professions evolve by way of regulatory, political, and social responses. Although there are some distinct differences between forensic accountants and auditors in the USA, there is enough common ground to answer the call for auditors to be more mindful of finding fraud. This paper intends to draw attention to the fact that foundational forensic accounting skills may represent a paradigm shift for professional skills in the accounting markets.

This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the theme of this edition and to draw out the issues raised by the papers.

The editorial provides a context for the subject and examines some of the issues in auditing that have developed over the period since Journal of Applied Accounting Research (JAAR) was first published.

The editorial highlights the difficulty with some academic research and calls for a wider remit in auditing and accounting research in line with JAAR's editorial policy.

The editorial raises issues which are relevant both to academic and practitioner accountants and allows the reader to consider what research work may be possible and is required.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there is an expectation gap among accounting academics, accounting practitioners, and users of financial statements in the financial valuation fitness of auditors. Complex reporting standards and current market expectations have the potential to create differences between what third-party users consider to be the responsibilities of the auditor and what auditors believe to be their responsibilities in auditing fair value estimates.

This study surveys the perceptions of accounting academics, accounting practitioners, and users of financial statements and the degree to which an expectation gap exists in the financial valuation fitness of auditors. Survey respondents chose from a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”

This paper proposes two hypotheses. The results for all nine survey items have provided significant evidence that there is a difference in the expectation of the financial valuation fitness of auditors between users of financial statements and accounting practitioners (H1). Additionally, the findings for all survey items present support there is a significant difference in the expectation of the financial valuation fitness of auditors between accounting academics and users of financial statements (H2).

A limitation of the current study, as an inherent attribute with survey research, is non-response bias. The only way to evaluate this was to test late responses to earlier results. There were no significant results in these analyses. According to Fink (2003), if there are no significant differences in this indicator the likelihood of non-response bias is extremely low. Hence, this limitation did not have serious implications on the current study.

The implications of this study affect the accounting academic community as they prepare students in response to the evolving market expectations (Pan and Perera, 2012). Previous research has pointed toward the sluggish reaction for change in the accounting curriculum relative to external demands (Harvey, 2004; Pan and Perera, 2012). The results of this study also have resonating effects for accounting practitioners. The marketplace expects accountants to be “knowledge professionals” (Carnegie and Napier, 2010). Regulators continue to ask auditors to find more fraud and understand financial valuation (Pan and Perera, 2012).

Contemporary accounting practice is moving beyond the scope of quantitative recording of historical financial information. Ignoring integral market transformations could result in lower quality audits with corresponding increased litigation against auditors for negligence (Pearson, 2011).

This study is important for several reasons. First, users of financial statements have expressed the necessity for auditors to acquire financial valuation skills (Christensen et al. (2012). Therefore, the evidence obtained from users of financial statements in this research will be critical guidance to reconcile expectations. Second, accounting educators have not provided a significant response to teaching fair value concepts in the university curriculum (Carlino, 2012; Hanson, 2013). This research presents a clarion call to accounting educators to align university curriculum toward market expectations (Christensen et al., 2012). Third, the practitioner community has also been criticized for audit deficiencies in fair value. It is critical to understand if additional training in financial valuation is necessary to improve the fair value judgments of practitioners and meet stakeholder’s expectations. Accordingly, the study provides a contribution to practice. Finally, this paper answers the call by Christensen et al. (2012) for future research on the topic of fair value: to “mirror the categories of recommendations of regulators and standard setters.”

With the worsening of corporate fraud and consequential loss, the growing importance of truthful disclosure is globally advocated. This study aims to examine corporate governance’s role in accountants’ intention to disclose fraudulent practices honestly. At the same time, this study examines intergender differences concerning the formation of the disclosure intention.

Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), data from 256 accountants working in China have been collected via an online survey. This data is subsequently analyzed with the partial least square (PLS) structural equation modeling method.

The results revealed that integrity and corporate governance significantly positively affect employees’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control toward disclosure intention. At the same time, it shows that only subjective norm and perceived behavioral control established a significant positive relationship with disclosure intention. It also shows that males display higher attitudes and perceived behavioral control in developing the intention.

This study helps understand accountants’ disclosure intention of fraud practices, especially during shock events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to extend the TPB incorporating corporate governance and integrity as antecedents to disclosure intention. At the same time, this study contributes to the existing literature by being the first attempt to investigate intergender differences. Finally, it advances the body of knowledge on employees’ behavior and contributes methodologically by introducing the PLS approach.

Companies allowing employees to self-report business expenses face the risk of expense fraud because some occasionally engage in dishonest behavior to receive reimbursements for their use. Drawing on the technology acceptance model, this study aims to investigate the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived security on the trust in e-reimbursement systems and the relationship with honest disclosure intention.

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 254 respondents, with the partial least squares structural equation modeling used to analyze the data.

The findings showed that perceived security and perceived usefulness explained trust in e-reimbursement systems, whereas perceived ease of use had no significant effect on it. Corporate governance and trust in e-reimbursement systems have a positive relationship with whistleblowing intention. At the same time, corporate governance mediates the relationship between trust in e-reimbursement systems and honest disclosure intention.

This study sheds light on using e-reimbursement systems within organizations to prevent fraudulent reimbursements and offers recommendations to management on enhancing employees’ intention to engage in honest disclosure behavior through e-reimbursement systems.

The aim of this paper is to explore how virtue ethics might inform our understanding about what constitutes “good” practice in forensic accounting. In particular, the paper explores the concept of phronesis (or practical wisdom) as a basis for guiding the application of professional judgement in forensic accounting practice.

The paper draws on a review of relevant literature.

Prior literature has identified a number of technical and personal characteristics and attributes that are desirable in forensic accounting practitioners. Although being ethical is identified as an important characteristic, the question of what constitutes a “good” forensic accountant has not hitherto been investigated. Because of the profession’s multi-disciplinary and highly technical nature, forensic accountants are significantly at risk of conflating ethics with compliance with the law. The paper suggests that an understanding of virtue ethics and especially the virtue of “phronesis” or practical wisdom will help forensic accountants maintain public confidence and quality in their services and provide practical guidance on the exercise of professional judgement.

The paper suggests that the primacy currently given in forensic accounting literature and practice to a commercial logic, technical competencies and legal compliance risks damaging the professional standing of forensic accountants and, over time, reduces the ability of forensic accountants to exercise professional judgement in complex unstructured situations. Virtue ethics can act as a useful counter point to these threats.

A recognition of the need for the forensic accounting profession to collectively develop phronesis would re-establish the primacy of the profession’s public interest logic and maintain public trust and quality in forensic accounting services.

There appears to be no prior literature in forensic accounting which explores the application of virtue ethics in this field. In addition, although virtue ethics has been the subject of some prior papers in accounting per se, the importance of phronesis as a basis for understanding the nature and application of professional judgement has not been addressed.

This study investigates the perception of professionals in the field of accounting, and those associated with forensic auditing, about the knowledge and skills, experience and technique that a forensic auditor should possess to provide high-quality services in fraud detection. The study also shows the impact of forensic auditing tools on fraud detection.

With the use of a self-administered questionnaire, the study adopts a survey design in which 298 respondents participated. Data were subjected to descriptive statistics (ranking, mean and standard deviation), inferential statistics (binary logistic regression and ordinary least square regression).

The findings indicate that adequate knowledge of economic damage calculation and financial statement valuation is essential for forensic auditors' service. The results also reveal that forensic auditor skills and techniques is a significant predictor for fraud detection in the Nigerian public sector.

The paper draws attention of the federal government parastatals to the need to improve their internal control system to reduce the fraudulent practices in their parastatal. The study also draws the attention of the Nigeria University Commission and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria on the needs for revision of the accounting curricular for the training of accounting graduates and professional accountants in Nigeria.

The paper is of importance to other developing nation as it provides empirical evidence on the needs to do periodic forensic audits of government corporations.

With the persistent increase in the number of fraudulent cases, current views of those associated with forensic auditing (judiciaries, parastatals, forensic auditors and academics) on mechanisms for timely detection of fraud are needed.