Corporate Fraud Prevention and Detection: Revisiting the Literature

Fraud has become a worldwide phenomenon and prime issue of concern. It dwells in all countries and affects all types of organisations irrespective of their size, profitability or industry. The primary objective of this paper is to provide an in-depth understanding of literature related to corporate fraud in order to understand 'why' fraud occurs and 'how' to combat it. Research studies published during the period commencing from the year 1984 to 2014 have been reviewed. The study aims to provide an in-depth discussion on significant red flags that may exist before fraud occurrence. It, also, provides a comprehensive view about fraud detection and prevention methods. Findings reveal that red flag is an important mechanism to prevent fraud. Application of single fraud detection technique will not curb the fraud effectively. Also, the top executives were found to be responsible for implementing anti-fraud policies and techniques within business organisation. Further, the present study tries to discern the research gap in existing literature and explore the area of future research.