Examining Fraudulent Financial Statements of Turkish Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from Different Sectors

Abstract

Financial statement fraud has negative effects on sustainable financial development of businesses and industries. In this sudy, Turkish SMEs from different sectors have been examined in terms of fraud detection in financial statements. Banks, which assess the credit demands of SMEs, must be vigilant and innovative to combat financial accounting fraud. From these standpoints, comprehensive comparison study is conducted by examining 341 Turkish SMEs' financial statements from different sectors (manufacturing, construction, transportation, agricultural). The data of these SMEs are collected from one of the largest banks, based on total assets, in Turkey in which the bank provide them loans for funding. Results show that firms in construction sector mostly manipulate Cash (100), Due from Shareholders (131) financial accounts more than firms in other sectors (with rate of 56 %). This study can be guideline to comprehend on sectoral basis which financial accounts are mostly used in fraudulent financial reporting in which it can be useful to reduce fraud risks for SMEs along with to protect and prevent against fraud for all players in financial reporting system.