Agus Samekto

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
This study examines the impact of budget planning, participation, and internal control on preventing fraud in the budget and testing the mediating role of effective budgetary policy. A quantitative research approach was carried out in which a structured survey was administered to 178 heads of work units in local government agencies of 14 districts in East Java Province, Indonesia. These respondents were purposively sampled, considering their active role in the budget preparation, to enhance data relevance and reliability. The data collection period was from February to March 2025. The study adheres to rigorous ethical standards to protect human participants and the integrity of the research process. The study found that budget participation is the most significant variable for fraud prevention (β = .747, p < 0.001), followed by budget planning (β = 0.147, p = .017). Internal control and budget policy had no direct effect on fraud prevention. Notably, budget policy had a significant mediation effect between each predictor and fraud prevention, particularly for budget planning (indirect effect β = .352, p < 0.001). The results indicate that fraud prevention can best occur using participatory practices and planning that are contained within a strong, enforceable budgetary policy. It is suggested that there should be institutionalized budget systems with integrated governance systems to facilitate financial integrity.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Fraudulent behavior in banking services remains a critical challenge in Indonesia, especially amid rapid digitalization and increasing fintech adoption, while traditional models such as the Fraud Pentagon Theory (FPT) are limited in explaining new fraud drivers related to technological exposure and cultural dynamics. This study aims to detect fraudulent behavior in Indonesian banking services by modifying the FPT through the integration of prestige culture and fintech usage. It employed a survey approach targeting front-office employees of private national banks in Indonesia with at least two years of professional customer service experience. This sample was chosen because such employees are directly exposed to operational pressures, opportunities, and technological systems, making them highly relevant for detecting fraud risk factors. Data were collected using offline and online questionnaires and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using WarpPLS. The results indicate that the seven factors of pressure (β = 0.916; p < .001), opportunity (β = 0.929; p < .001), rationalization (β = 0.847; p < .001), capability (β = 0.862; p < .001), control (β = 0.907; p < .001), fintech usage (β = 0.712; p < .001), and prestige culture (β = 0.837; p < .001) are significant in determining fraudulent activities, whereas the whistleblowing system (β = –0.312; p = .002) and fintech security usage (β = –0.298; p = .003) are moderators. Based on the findings, the conclusion is that pressure and opportunity are the most potent predictors of fraudulent activity, while whistleblowing and fintech security systems are important mechanisms for preventing such activity.