Unlocking budget fraud prevention: Synergistic role of budget planning, participation, and internal control through effective budgetary policy

The paper investigates discretionary budget expenditure and determines its role in the system of regulation of country’s socio-economic development. In a very difficult political and socio-economic situation, Ukraine faces an urgent need to finda balance between the amount of functions performed by the state and the level of their financial support. The analysis of the State Budget of Ukraine expenditure according to the functional classification in 2014–2017 has been carried out. In particular, the discretionary budget expenditures (on state functions, economic activity, defense budget expenditures, budget expenditure on public order, security and judiciary; environmental protection, housing and utilities) are carefully analyzed. The purpose of the article is to study trends in financing discretionary budget expenditure and determine their impact on the socio-economic development of a country. Discretionary budget expenditures are the study object. It is determined that socio-economic development of a country requires government to apply progressive forms, methods and principles of expenditure management between the budget system levels. This need is due to the objective necessity to achieve sustainable development of economy and population welfare. The main problems that reduce budget discretionary expenditure effectiveness in the current conditions are investigated and the main directions to improve their financing are offered. The obtained results indicate the need to revise the funding of discretionary budget expenditures depending on the state policy priorities.

Fraud prevention entails developing and implementing risk management strategies, particularly regarding fraud, and establishing internal controls and transparent corporate governance practices to eliminate fraudulent activities. This study aims to examine the effect of internal auditors, internal control, and audit quality on preventing fraud at the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The sample included 61 government internal auditors of the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The data collection process was carried out by administering questionnaires using Google Forms. Additionally, this investigation assessed the constructs under scrutiny using a five-point Likert and the partial least square (PLS) approach. The results showed that internal audit has a positive and significant effect on fraud prevention (p < 0.05), internal control has a positive and significant effect on fraud prevention (p < 0.05), and audit quality has no effect on fraud prevention at the Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia (p > 0.05). The Inspectorate of North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, should conduct internal audits, implement an internal control system, and pay attention to the quality of audits to make them more effective as a basis for quality decision-making and fraud minimization.

This study examines the importance of the application of forensic audit in controlling financial frauds that ravage or threaten the soundness and business continuity of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. The study used survey design methods, and the primary data were obtained through the administration of structured questionnaire covering seventeen (17) banks out of twenty-two (22) Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in the country, which is 77.3%. In this study, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was used to analyze and test hypotheses, and the findings showed that the involvement of qualified and experienced forensic auditors would not only contribute to the amelioration of financial frauds in DMBs, but would also lead to much-needed sanity in the banking sector of Nigeria. The study recommends that regulatory agencies, within the limits prescribed by law, mandate all the banks to create a special forensic department, managed by a professional forensic auditor, which will develop and constantly implement effective and efficient internal control, timely prosecution of fraudsters by considering them to be criminals and as a deterrent to others, and work out adequate training and development programs for their staff, especially in fraud control, in order to reduce the number of fraud cases in Nigerian banks.