Evaluation of fraud examinations: The case of inappropriate accounting practices at Fuji Xerox

Abstract

There is a growing business for global auditing firms and local law firms as well as independent detectives to conduct forensic investigations at client organizations when there is suspicion of white-collar misconduct and crime. Client organizations normally do not disclose investigation reports. An investigation report concerned with inappropriate accounting practices at Fuji Xerox in New Zealand is publicly available. This article presents an evaluation of the investigation. Specifically, this article focuses on the mandate, where examiners were asked to find causes of misconduct. Examiners present eight reasons for inappropriate accounting practices. However, as discussed in this evaluation, the report of investigation presents little or no evidence for most of the causes.