Investigating fraud, internal audit quality and company performance

Fraud in financial statements can be defined as knowingly violating accounting standards when preparing financial reports and providing false data. Such frauds exist as long as financial reporting is aimed at achieving a manager's short-term goals. This happens not only in transition countries but also in developed economies and traditional financial reporting. Fraud in financial reports has had devastating effects in developed countries in recent years, leading to global financial crises. The rapid growth of information technology and the increase of business activities have led to the increase of fraud and financial corruption, and as a result, more attention has been paid to the profession of accounting and auditing. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of fraud investigations, internal audit quality and company performance, focusing on the transparency of accounting information and financial effectiveness and corporate governance. By focusing on the articles and the theoretical foundations and backgrounds on these subjects, it can be said that fraud investigation behaves as an important and valuable technique in internal audit practices. Consequently, businesses must develop and implement a systematic fraud investigation methodology to create and improve beneficial results in the short, medium and long term.