Possible Topics

                                  A number of topics can be found in Research Opportunities In Internal Auditing, by Andrew D. Bailey, Jr., Audrey A. Gramling, and Sridhar Ramamoorti. Published 2003 by the IIA Research Foundation. See pages 16-17 for a list of their ideas.

            Joseph W. Koletar offers these potential multi-disciplinary research topics on occupational fraud:

Does the possibility of prosecution deter occupational fraud (OF)?

Does the threat of incarceration deter OF?

We "know" internal controls work.  What empirical research has been done on their effectiveness?  How do they rank in terms of efficacy?

What mixtures of internal controls work best?

Why do roughly twice as many people say they would report fraud than actually do?

Does the type of mechanism used to report OF affect the likehood it will be reported?

One school of thought says OF is more likely in the young employee with minimal loyalty to the organization.  Another says fraud is learned behavior and is therefore more likely in more experienced employees.  The statistics we have suggest it peaks around 40-50.  Which is right?

How large is the problem of OF?  All we have are ACFE data, which are estimates.

How do we construct a typology of OF in organizations?

How do we collect data on OF in organizations?

How do we encourage/mandate organizations to report incidents of OF?

Why do cost-conscious organizations spend so little on preventing or detecting OF?  Is it viewed as a "cost of doing business" that can be passed on to the customer?

Can we develop a profile of those most likely to commit occupational fraud?

Does game theory offer promise in devising OF prevention strategies?

"Red flag" lists for OF are common but almost all produce too many false positives to be of practical use.  Can we develop an effective "red flag" checklist?

Following Sarbanes-Oxley audits of public companies are to be much more sensitive to issues of possible fraud, materiality aside.  How is this being done and how is it working?

How to we increase the capability of the average internal audit shop to deal with OF?

Computer forensic analyses are quick, relatively cheap and effective.  Why do very few companies use them?

How do supervisors perceive their responsibility to detect OF?

Why do employees tolerate co-workers committing OF?

Why do business schools do so poor a job of instilling  a sense of ethics in students?

Research indicates that 10% of Americans believe it is all right to defraud an insurance company and over 40% think it is okay to inflate a claim to cover the amount of the deductible.  Why do average Americans seem to hate insurance companies in particular, and organizations in general?

Who in the organization "owns" the responsibility for dealing with OF?  Is it a form of "risk" and, if so, who "owns" risk?

Compromise of intellectual property is a form of OF.  Who is responsible for the security of IP in the organization?

How do organizations view and define OF?  Is it day-dreaming?

Playing computer games at work? Personal telephone calls?  Fudging a cab ride on an expense report?  Taking a friend to lunch and calling it business?  Accepting a bottle of wine at Christmas from a vendor? Giving work to a vendor because he is a member of your fraternal lodge or church?

How can an organization have highly effective OF controls and not be run as a prison camp?

What is the role of superiors in setting the tone at the top?  Who polices how well they do this?

Sexual harassment was once viewed as inevitable in the workplace. That has changed.  What can we learn from this process and how much of it applies to controlling OF?

Do police techniques used in community policing have any applicability to controlling OF?

How do we develop career tracks and course curricula for students interested in forensic careers?

How do multi-national organizations deal with OF across cultural borders?

How do multinationals effectively police OF in foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures?

How does one rate the effectiveness of an internal investigations unit?  Number of cases?  Size of recoveries?  How does one measure prevention?

Should the organization internally publish sanctions taken against employees who commit OF?  Does this deter others who may be tempted to commit it?

How do internal audit, MIS, corporate security, human resources, legal, and perhaps public relations work cooperatively on issues of OF? Is there a "best" model?

 Are "zero tolerance" policies effective, or do they push instances of OF out of sight?  Do they promote rapid resolution of incidents when more thorough investigation was warranted?

Is insurance coverage really a panacea for not dealing with OF in a meaningful manner?

What is the self-perception of the OF offender?  We know more about the self-perceptions and motivations of serial killers than we do of OF offenders.

Has a survey ever been done on existing research into OF?  If not, how can/should that be done?

Law enforcement has traditionally had little enthusiasm for dealing with frauds committed within organizations.  Now, with terrorism issues also on their plates, this is probably reduced even further.  What is the answer to non-enforcement?

The railway police were the answer of a specific industry to a set of problems no one else would or could address. Do we now need corporate police?

How do we legally deal with the serial OF employee who moves from organization to organization, usually leaving for "personal reasons," without violating their rights?

A major grocery chain in the NE fires over 5,000 employees a year for stealing, many of them 16 year old kids, some of whom steal their first day on the job.  How do we address OF in low-paying, high turnover industries?