Accountants Are Crunched: A Crisis In Oversight And The Rise of Financial Fraud

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Murtagh, Natalie
Area of Honors:
Accounting
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Samuel Burton Bonsall, IV, Thesis Supervisor
Samuel Burton Bonsall, IV, Thesis Honors Advisor
Shelley Curling, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
accounting
financial fraud
accountant shortage
CPA shortage
Abstract:
This study sets out to explore the relationship between the declining supply of accountants and whether it causes an increase in accounting fraud. Using a data-driven approach in assessing fraud, the analysis focused on types of fraud that would be most impacted by accountants. The data used was from reported fraud that was tracked by the government. Before performing a regression analysis on the hypotheses, several conditional variables were established and included in the regression analysis to determine if there are other factors that contribute to fraud. The variables of GDP, enforcement actions, and civil monetary penalties were included in the regression analysis along with the decline of accountants. The study revealed that the decline of accountants affects the occurrence of fraud. Ultimately, these findings contribute to the seriousness of the issue of the shortage of accountants.