Change Initiatives After Financial Crime.

Abstract

Financial crime poses a threat to organizations around the world, necessitating robust internal frameworks to counter applicable risks adequately. Furthermore, financial crime puts an affected organization in distress, causing a series of effects towards rebuilding the status quo. With a change management perspective, we argue that there is an increased necessity for organizations to prevent, detect, and respond to financial crime. As the risk of financial crime is increasing, this thesis aims to contribute to the discussion on change management after financial crime by answering the research question How should change management be initiated after financial crime? By using a thematic analysis of primary and secondary data, our study revealed four interesting areas for discussion. These areas allowed us to compare, contrast, and criticize the information gathered within the dimensions of (i) culture; (ii) prevent; (iii) detect; and (iv) response. All areas include diverse change initiatives our research found essential for organizations to evaluate in order to mitigate the risk of financial crime reoccurring. By addressing a gap in literature, we recommend seven change initiatives for organizations to initiate after an incident of financial crime. Further, our study contributes to the theory of convenience as we discuss how certain change initiatives might reduce or eliminate an offender’s financial motive, organizational opportunity, and personal willingness to conduct financial crime. It is our hope that this study can contribute to the further understanding of change management after financial crime, as we deem the study of change initiatives after financial crime to be of great societal and organizational value. Keywords: Change Management, Financial Crime, Culture, Prevent, Response, Detect, Transparency, Trust, Measures, Convenience Theory