The reality of accounting disclosure of financial corruption in financial reports: a case study of the Libyan Audit Bureau

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the level of accounting disclosure of financial corruption in the Libyan Audit Bureau’s reports during the period from 2016 to 2020. To achieve this, the researchers used the quantitative content analysis method to analyze the content of the Bureau’s annual reports covering the period from 2016 to 2020, as the study dealt with the main seven sectors which are the public finance sector, the foreign affairs sector, the oil sector, the banking sector, the education sector, the health sector and the electricity sector. One of the main results reached is that the level of accounting disclosure of financial corruption was fluctuating during the study period, and although it witnessed a noticeable increase during the year 2017, it declined significantly after that. In addition, quantitative disclosure represents a large proportion of the total accounting disclosure of financial corruption. Accordingly, the researchers recommend that there should be training courses for members of the Audit Bureau concerned with the quality of financial reports and accounting disclosure, as well as adopting a future study that addresses the rest of the sectors mentioned in the reports.