Master of Science in Accounting (MAcc)Accounting Department

Course No: ACCT 632Course Name: Forensic AccountingResearch Proposal

Academic Year: 2-1438-1439Instructure: Dr. Ahmad Alsalman

Student. No:381224146Student Name:Reef Mohammad Alsheail

Points earne

dfrom

10

Points earnedfrom100

Maximum pointsTraitsObjectiveNo

220

Identify and summarize the

research problem and state the

research question

Students will demonstrate that they are

critical thinkers

1

110Identify the

purpose of your research

2

110Identify the importance of your research

3

110Identify the

accounting issue of your research

4

220Identify and

summarizes the literature review

5

220Identify the

research hypothesis

6

220Identify the

research model and the variables

7

110Identify the data and sample

8

12120Total

1

1) Identify and summarize the research problem and state the research question 2) Identify the purpose of your research 3) Identify the importance of your research4) Identify the accounting issue of your research5) Identify and summarizes the literature review6) Identify the research hypothesis7) Identify the research model and the variables8) Identify the data collection and Sample.9) Identify the references.

2

The problems facing the Forensic accountants and its impact on their

performance in Saudi court

Supervisor:

Dr. Ahmad Alsalman

Submitted by:

Reef Mohammad Alsheail

381224146

3

The problems facing the Forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia and its impact on their

performance

Introduction:

Forensic accounting is a special area of accounting, which deals with the investigation of

fraudulent activities within financial systems of any country. The services associated with this

type of accounting are designed to enable attorneys and their clients to resolve financial disputes

and be able to clearly and concisely communicate financial information in the courtroom

(Alabdullah, Alfadhl, Alfadhl & Rabi, 2013). Therefore, forensic accounting is one of the critical

areas of accounting, which are fundamental in enhancing the success of corporate firms

(Williams, 2014). Many international financial institutions have been facing financial challenges

in the 21st century due to mismanaged planning that has resulted in further financial crises (Dada,

Owolabi & Okwu, 2013). Some of these financial institutions have experienced various forms of

corruption and other fraudulent activities that have gone unnoticed.

Since forensic accounting prevails all the critical problems that are faced in the corporate

world, it is important for any organization that desires to fight corruption to compliment the

efforts of other professionals with services of forensic accounting to help in reducing these

fraudulent activities (Williams, 2014). Since forensic accounting is a new area of focus for many

countries, there are some problems that may affect forensic accountants and their performance in

financial institutions and courtrooms. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate the problems that

are associated with forensic accounting and how they affect the performance of forensic

accountants in Saudi courts, which will be discussed thoroughly in this paper as an attempt to

draw valid implications for the concerned parties.

Key words: forensic accounting, fraudulence, corruption, courts, audit.

4

Research Problem:

The beginning of 21st-century marked a major collapse of the world economy, many

international financial institutions collapsed as a result of mismanaged planning. Some of these

institutions collapsed because the external auditors failed to detect abuses and take necessary

professional action, prompting many institutions and individuals to resort to the courts to

adjudicate disputed litigation cases (Alabdullah et al., 2013). This behavior was also compounded

by an increase in cases filed in courts in general and Saudi Courts in particular which need to be

separated through transparent professional investigation. There is a general expectation that

manipulation of reports and financial statements in the Kingdom of Saudi will significantly be

reduced by forensic accounting.

Due to increased financial disputes, we need to use recent developments in the field of

auditing and accounting to effectively deal with these financial cases. Traditional auditing

methods are not enough for solving these cases; this makes it imperative for courts to use forensic

accounting as a modern method of investigating fraudulent activities to achieve greater objectivity

and accuracy in the settlement of financial disputes. This indicates that the performance of

forensic accountants is important for addressing the financial disputes in these cases (Alabdullah

et al., 2013). How forensic accounting can assist in restricting financial and economic crimes is

beyond several unreliable views, there is no adequate emphasis especially survey evidence.

With all the research in the area of forensic accounting, there is still a gap related to

problems faced by forensic accountants and how these problems affect their performance.

Forensic accounting is a new area of focus among many countries; professionals working in this

field experience vast problems, which up to date, have not widely been investigated (Alabdullah et

al., 2013). With reference to Saudi Arabia, several studies have investigated the significance of

forensic accounting in financial institutions, however, few researchers have focused on the

problems experienced in this area of accounting and how these problems affect the delivery of

5

forensic accounting services across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Investigating these

problems is important because it can assist in making forensic services better for clients in Saudi

Arabia and other countries across the world. The following questions are developed to pinpoint

the first issue of forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia. These questions are intended to

encourage professional accountants and accounting researchers to dig more into this significant

area of specialization. Therefore, the questions might appear to be introductory rather an advanced

level in this field.

Research Question:

The question that arises from this study is;

I. Do the problems experienced by forensic accountants affect their performance in solving

financial disputes in Saudi courts?

The sub questions that arise from this question are;

1. Does the absence of a background in the financial and accounting aspects of the judge

affect the performance of the forensic accountant in Saudi courts?

2. Does the lack of clarity of Saudi Law in some financial aspects affect the performance of

forensic accountants in Saudi courts?

3. Does the lack of customer credibility affect the performance of the forensic accountant in

Saudi courts?

Research purpose:

I want to exam the problems facing the forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia, and investigate their

impacts on the forensic accounting performance and the study seeks to achieve these objectives

mentioned bellow:

6

1. Developing the performance of the forensic accountant and make the forensic service

better in Saudi Arabia.

2. Explain the importance of developing Saudi law in financial aspects to help improve

the performance of the forensic accountant.

3. alert the beneficiaries and the Saudi courts to the extent of need for forensic

accountant.

4. Clarify the problems faced by forensic accountant and how these problems affect their

performance and try to reduce its impact, to improve the forensic accounting service in

Saudi Arabia.

Importance of Research:

This research is important because it investigates the problems associated with forensic

accounting with the aim of improving these services to ensure that the process of resolving

financial disputes in courts is effective. The research aims at gathering the necessary data and

information regarding the problems faced by forensic accountants, this information can be

significant in designing appropriate methods and tools for investigating the fraudulent activities in

agencies.

Researchers claim that the series of fraud in recent times have increased in the public and

private sectors of the economy. These fraudulent activities have resulted in huge financial

scandals and bankruptcies for small firms as well as large international firms. Many researchers

have investigated the increased incidences of fraudulent activities in the financial systems across

countries. Some of the researchers claim that in some countries like Nigeria, financial fraud is

slowly being considered as the normal way of life (Kasum, 2000; Dada, Owolabi & Okwu, 2013).

According to Dada, Owolabi and Okwu (2013), some of the individuals within these counties

perpetrate fraud and corruption according to the capacity of their office.

7

With the economic downturn therefore, the world has seen the significance and an

increased demand for forensic accounting services to investigate fraudulent activities and

deal with the financial crisis.

Statistics show the number of cases received by the Saudi commercial courts during

the first five months of the current year AH is about 15,256 rights suits, 53% of which are

financial disputes.

Studies indicate that increased white collar jobs and the increasing occurrences of

occupational fraud can significantly be reduced by forensic accounting because according to

investigators, these occupational frauds losses amount to about 994 billion dollars annually

(Alabdullah et al., 2013). Being an effective accountant does not mean that an individual will

become an effective forensic accountant. Lee, Cefaratti and Green (2015) claim that forensic

accounting requires an individual to possess a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge to be able

to effectively deliver these services.

As mentioned above, the study is significant because it helps to identify and address

problems that are faced by forensic accountants. In as much as most studies look at the

significance of forensic least of these studies look at the problems that are faced by the

forensic accountants within these institutions and whether these problems affect their

performance in their respective courts. accounting in investigating and addressing fraudulent

activities within financial institutions,

Saudi Arabia, being one of the countries that have experienced constant financial

problems and fraudulent activities in its financial systems has decided to adopt forensic

accounting in its financial institutions. Studies indicate that regardless of being an oil giant, the

economy of this country is in a crisis due to fraudulent activities in its financial system

(Alabdullah et al., 2013).

8

Some of the studies relate these financial irregularities with the change in Sharia law with

regard to financial institutions (Aghimien, 2016; Alkahtani, Aljerian, Golding & Alqahtani, 2015).

With regard to this, AL Hassan (2013) argues that forensic accounting is fundamental to

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study is important because it will investigate these

problems to help the country address them and enhance the services of forensic accountants.

Contribution of research:

Most studies conducted in Saudi Arabia indicate that forensic accounting has assisted in

reducing financial and administrative corruption. According to these studies, many specialized

administrative courts in Saudi Arabia have embraced forensic accounting to control public money

and investigate money crimes (Alabdullah et al., 2013). However, few studies show that the

application of forensic accounting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is facing some obstacles

that have affected the delivery of these forensic services. It will be the first research in Saudi

Arabia that identified the problem that facing forensic accountant and their impact on the

performance in Saudi court.

Accounting Issue of the Research:

Forensic accounting is one of the effective ways through which a country can conduct

criminal investigations and help in resolving financial litigation cases. However, taking up the role

of forensic accountant can be challenging for individuals, whether in a fraud sense or in a business

(Williams, 2014). One of the key issues that forensic accountants face is the perception. In as

much as a majority of the clients perceive the forensic accountant as just another accountant, there

is a number of differences in the competencies that are required to reconstruct suspicious practices

and ensure compliance to traditional practices.

Many researchers have investigated the significance of forensic accounting in combating

fraudulent practices involving administrative and financial corruption. In the Kingdom of Saudi

9

Arabia, a majority of the organizations have embraced forensic accounting as a means of

providing professional opinions to Saudi courts when financial cases arise (Alabdullah et al.,

2013). There is a connection between forensic accounting and the rest branches of accounting in

Saudi Arabia (Williams, 2014).

The special area of forensic accounting arose as a solution to the economic crisis that the

world faced in the beginning of the 21st century. Since the economic crisis, the world has seen

the significance and an increased demand for forensic accounting services to investigate

fraudulent activities and deal with the financial crisis (Williams, 2014). Forensic accounting arose

in the United States of America and is slowly and gradually being adopted by many countries

across the world, including countries in the Middle East such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Increased white collar jobs across nations has resulted to increased fraudulent activities

and corruption significantly be reduced by forensic accounting because these occupational frauds

lead to losses of the amount of money in organizations across the world. Alabdullah et al. (2013)

claim that forensic accounting is significant in reducing these fraudulent activities because

the forensic accountants are trained and equipped with skills to clearly and concisely

communicate financial information in the courtroom thus, making it easier for the accountants and

clients to resolve financial disputes.

Since forensic accounting surmounts all the critical problems that are faced in the

corporate world. Being an effective accountant does not mean that an individual will become an

effective forensic accountant (Dada, Owolabi & Okwu, 2013). The later requires an individual to

possess a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge to able to effectively deliver forensic services

(Lee, Cefaratti & Green, 2015; Alabdullah et al., 2013). It is important for any organization that

desires to fight corruption across the world to ensure that its forensic accountants possess some

special skills and competencies that can enable them to effectively investigate and address

fraudulent activities within the organizations.

10

Owojori and Asaolu (2009) argue that forensic accounting is associated with many

problems because it is a new field of accounting that is being adopted by countries across the

world. Some of these problems affect the forensic accountants’ performance in these financial

institutions and courtrooms. The most challenging issues affecting forensic accountants are mainly

complexity and time management (Hetsler, 2015). When forensics records are organized digitally,

they tend to be immense and the activity can extend beyond multiple jurisdictions.

According to Hetsler (2015), most companies are finding it hard to recruit forensic

accountants because they believe that having forensic accountants can constrain the relationships

with existing clients since the timing of using a forensic accountant can demand rabid and intense

actions.

This perception has affected the ability of these organizations to effective investigate and

address financial corruption issues within the organizations (Zadeh & Ramazani, 2012). As a

result, the organizations suffer from huge money loses and affect the entire performance of the

company on the business environment (Hetsler, 2015). Even though some of the problems in

the areas of forensic accounting have been identified, it is not known to what extent these

problems affect the performance of forensic accountants in Saudi Courts.

Literature Review:

Previous studies have focused on the significance of forensic accounting on investigating

and reporting fraudulent activities. Owojori and Asaolu (2009) argue that forensic accounting is

one of the critical areas of accounting, which are fundamental in improving the performance of

corporate firms. According to this study, forensic accounting addresses all the critical problems

that are faced in the corporate world. Accordingly, any organization that desires to minimize fraud

is required to compliment the efforts of other professions with the service of forensic accounting

to effectively reduce these fraudulent activities (Owojori & Asaolu, 2009).

11

In the days to come, Owojori and Asaolu (2009) claim that, the forensic accountant will

become a major requirement in the the field of accounting.

In the same vein, Dada, Owolabi and Okwu (2013) investigated the significance and

effectiveness of forensic science in combating fraudulent activities in Nigeria. These researchers

used multiple regression techniques to analyze the information collected through oral interviews

and questionnaires. The researchers also tested the hypothesis they formulated for their study.

From their study, they found out that fraud investigation and detection through forensic

accounting can significantly mitigate fraudulent activities.

Moreover, Alabdullah, Alfadhl, Yahya and Rabi (2013), argue that forensic accounting has

become an important issue for scholars and researchers. These authors conducted a study on the

effectiveness of forensic accounting in reducing fraudulent activities in Iraq. According to them,

Iraq is one of the Third-world countries that are drowning in financial corruption, perhaps due to

terrorist’s operations accompanied by its political regime change that began 2003. As such, there

has been a slowdown in the economic development in this country that has prevented the

prosperity of the communities in Iraq. To sum it up, Alabdullah, Alfadhl, Yahya and Rabi (2013),

point out that forensic accounting significantly helped in reducing financial corruption in Iraq,

thereby advocating for further investigation on forensic accounting issues.

In the Saudi contexts, there have been several research studies that have addressed

forensic accounting. For example, the first ever study on forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia was

conducted, to the best of my knowledge, by Al-saad (2013), a professor of accounting at King

Abdulaziz University. His field exploratory study aimed to identify the current practices and

future vision of forensic accounting in the Kingdom. He provided a well-established theoretical

framework for forensic accounting appropriate for the Saudi contexts. He circulated a survey to a

randomly selected sample of accounting academics and accountants in the Kingdom.

12

The findings revealed that additional forensic courses should be included into accounting

curricula in Saudi universities in order to raise the awareness of students and professors alike.

Moreover, 86.6% of the participants recognize the importance of this field.

And when we look to the Saudi university we found that only one university offers this course,

which is Qassim University.

Three years later, another study was conducted on forensic accounting in the Saudi

contexts entitled Forensic Accounting and its Role in the Reduction of Administrative and

Financial Corruption in the Region of Asir.

They study was conducted by Alhassan and Al-Saad (2016) who concluded that

approximately 96% of the study sample indicated that there was an association between forensic

accounting and the remaining fields of study of accounting. However, the vast majority of the

participants pointed out that there is a variation between the skills of a forensic accountant and

other accountants. They concluded that there is an urgent need for a department specialized in

forensic accounting to be responsible for minimizing financial and administrative corruption cases

in order to specifically combat them in administrative courts.

Furthermore, Alhassan (2017) argues that forensic accounting is significant for reducing

corruption in the administrative and financial sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According

to this author, forensic accounting has assisted in reducing financial and administrative corruption

in Saudi Arabia. Alhassan (2017) also concludes that many specialized administrative courts in

Saudi Arabia have embraced forensic accounting to control public money and investigate money

crimes.

13

However, few studies show that the application of forensic accounting in the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia is facing some obstacles that have affected the delivery of these forensic services

(Alhassan, 2017). However, it is not known to what extent these problems affect the

performance of forensic accountants in Saudi Courts.

Nevertheless, no several researchers have investigated the challenges that forensic

accounts face and how the challenges affect his performance in Saudi courts. This is becoming

the area of focus in current research. According to Lim, Lee, Yap, and Ling (2016), most of the

financial auditor’s lack time management skills, analytics as well as communication skills.

Have a positive job attitude in the field of forensic accounting translates to increased

performance in the field. These authors claim that some of the most frequently encountered

problems in this field include difficulty in applying knowledge and lack of technical knowledge.

Van Akkeren, Buckby and Tarr (2016) argue that the professionalization process of

forensic accounting practice in Australia is influenced by overlapping of diverse occupational

jurisdictions. The pursuit of the independent professional status of the forensic accountants in this

region is influenced self-interest and public interest considerations regarding forensic accounting.

According to these authors, forensic accountants encounter problems in this field due to

overlapping of other occupational jurisdictions.

Kumari Tiwari and Debnath (2017) argue that practitioners in the forensic accounting field

need to possess certain investigative skills and knowledge and be acquainted and updated with

relevant laws to succeed in forensic accounting. In the same vein, Howieson (2018) aims at

informing what constitutes ‘good’ practice in forensic accounting by exploring the virtue ethics in

forensic accounting. According to this study, the process of professional judgment in forensic

accounting practice is based on the practical wisdom of the forensic accountants.

14

Aghimien (2016) investigated how the accounting standards in the Middle East have been

influenced by the cultural values in these countries. Aghimien (2016) claims that the accounting

standards of the Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia are evolving at a completely

different level as compared to the western countries. The accounting standards of these counties

have had a great impact on the international market. Therefore, not much is known about how the

Islamic rules and regulations of these countries can impact the implementation of forensic

accounting in these countries.

Haniffa and Hudaib (2007) investigate factors that influence the perceptions of audit

performance of auditors and users within the cultural context of Saudi Arabia. According to these

authors, the auditors in Saudi Arabia are facing problems related to some of the

responsibilities arising from legal pronouncements (Haniffa & Hudaib, 2007).

In some of the cases, these auditors have been required to get clarification from the acting

fair judge or the management (Haniffa & Hudaib, 2007). Forensic accountants are also forced to

adhere to the professional code of ethics which makes it difficult for them to investigate some of

the fraudulent activities.

According to Haniffa and Hudaib (2007) the auditors in Saudi Arabia also face problems

related to detecting and reporting fraud. These problems have influenced their performance on the

job as some of them have become reluctant on performing their roles. Haniffa and Hudaib (2007)

argue that this problem can be attributed to the fact that there are deficient standards for

performing forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia. Also, Haniffa and Hudaib (2007) claim that

Saudi Arabia does not have adequate personnel to work in the forensic services, this makes

it difficult for the available personnel to work efficiently to the required standards.

Zadeh and Ramazani (2012) investigate the perception of accountants with regard to

forensic accounting. According to these authors, forensic is a specialized area of accounting with

is associated with legal problems in the finance system.

15

The personnel working in this field are required to provide other professionals with

required evidence in law courts. A majority of the forensic accountant’s experience difficulties

working in this field because of the perception of the accountants.

Zadeh and Ramazani (2012) argue that the numbers of firms which refer to law courts

are increased, according to the perception of the accountants for their financial complaints to be

reduced. According to these authors, many individuals and countries across the world are

acknowledging the significance of forensic accounting in effectively addressing the financial

problems and fraudulent activities. Therefore, if the perceptions of the accountants regarding

forensic accounting are positive, forensic accountants are likely to experience fewer obstacles in

their work.

Hestler (2015) investigates the challenges faced by forensic accountants across the world.

According to this author, being a forensic accountant is critical since the service can have a

significant impact on many individuals, whether in a fraud sense or in a business valuation. The

main issue that forensic accountants face, according to Hestler (2015), is perception. Also, this

author claims that time management and the complexity of the job, resulting from the immense

records, makes it difficult for the forensic accountants to achieve their goals in the forensic

service.

Hestler (2015) claims that the records of forensic accounting tend to be immense

regardless of the fact that the records are digitally organized, this makes the service more

demanding for the forensic personnel (Hetsler, 2015). The relationship of the company and its

clients can also be constrained by the rabid and intense actions that are associated with the timing

of the forensic accountants, this does not give the forensic accountants the morale to audit and

investigate criminal activities.

Lee, Cefaratti and Green (2015) emphasize the significance of forensic accountant

education on the creativity and performance of forensic accountants. According to these authors,

16

the creativity of forensic accountants is enhanced through forensic accounting education

and training. The forensic accountants who do not undertake these programs experience more

problems in investigating fraudulent cases and their general performance in the courts. Therefore,

Lee, Cefaratti and Green (2015) claim that forensic accountants should undertake a forensic

accounting course that will enable them to develop and nurture creative skills that would enable

them to assess fraud risk and solve forensic accounting problems without experiencing so many

challenges. In the current study, the problems relevant to forensic accounting and how they

affect the performance of forensic accountants in Saudi courts will be investigated, with

valid implications will be drawn for the concerned accountants.

Nonetheless, some researchers have concluded that forensic accounting does not

significantly have an impact on reducing fraud cases. To mention a few, Fiia (2013) argues

that although forensic accounting is a significant emerging field of study, it did not reveal concrete

data on minimizing the occurrence of fraud cases. The researcher concluded that forensic

accounting is an extravagant practice of accounting, and other types of accounting can replace

sorensing accounting. Another example is raised in China by Sui (2013) who argues that even

though forensic accounting is growing rapidly in China, its impact is still limited due to the lack of

awareness of this emerging field of study. Moreover, Ehioghiren and Atu (2016) found little

evidence of a greater impact of forensic accounting on Nigerian contexts, arguing that the

participants reported that “forensic accounting significantly influences fraud detection and

control” in a few cases due to the lack of having well trained forensic accountants (p. 264).

17

Methodology:

Research Hypotheses:

I developed my hypothesis based on several studies, Haniffa and Hudaib (2007)they indicat there

are problems have influenced the performance of certified auditor’s on the job as some of them

have become reluctant on performing their roles and Al-saad (2013) talk about some problems

facing forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia Therefore, some offices do not practice forensic

accounting also (Alhassan, 2017) said forensic accounting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is

facing some obstacles that have affected the delivery of these forensic services few studies show

that.

Hypothesis 1; absence of a background in the financial and accounting aspects of the judge faced

by forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia significantly influence their performance in courts.

Hypothesis 2; lack of clarity of Saudi Law in some financial aspects faced by forensic

accountants in Saudi Arabia significantly influence their performance in courts.

Hypothesis 3; the lack of customer credibility faced by forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia

significantly influence their performance in courts.

Research Model and Variables:

This study will use a quantitative research model that will enable me to collect data from

existing forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia (Certified accountants in Audit office that dealing

with forensic accounting issue in court). The dependent variable in the study will be;

performance of the forensic accountants in the Saudi Courts. The independent variable will

be; the problems faced by the forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia.

18

I will test the hypotheses using this variable, for instance, I will investigate to what extent

the problems in forensic accounting affect the performance of the forensic accountants in the

Saudi Courts.

PF= β0 -β1 BJ -β2 LC-β3CC + e

The Study Variables Definitions and Measurement

Symbol Definition MeasurementDependent Variable

PF

performance of the forensic accountants in the Saudi Courts.

Percent of the solving financial disputes in Saudi courts.

Independent

Variables

BJ

problems faced by the forensic accountants in Saudi Arabia:

absence of a background in the financial and accounting aspects of the judge.

Percent of the judge they don’t have background in the financial and accounting aspects.

LC lack of clarity of Saudi Law in some

financial aspects. Percentage of updating laws related to financial and accounting aspects.

CC lack of customer credibility. Misinformation percentage by customers.

Data Collection and Sample:

I will use both the primary and secondary methods of data collection in this study.

Regarding the primary methods, I will use a survey design to investigate the problems that face

forensic accounting in Saudi Arabia and how these problems influence the performance of the

forensic accountants. The study sample will involve a population of group of forensic

accountants (Certified accountants) in Audit office that dealing with forensic accounting

issue. The survey design will be used in the study with a sample of 80 participants.

19

The data for the study will be collected through well-structured Likert questionnaires

with a five-point scale; 5-strongly disagree, 4-Disagree, 3-Undecided, 2-Agree and 1-strongly

agree. This scale will be used to determine the opinions of the forensic accountants regarding he

extend to which the problems in forensic accounting affect their performance in the Saudi Courts.

The secondary methods of data collection will mainly focus on the utilization of

comprehensive literature. The databases that will be included in this study will be obtained from

the internet and to be precise, from Google Scholar.

A comprehensive literature will be used in this research because of the wide range of

sources which cover a vast part of research in forensic accounting and problems faced by forensic

accountants in Saudi Arabia and the world.

Data Analysis

The data collected from the study will mainly be analyzed through statistical hypothesis

testing using a two-factor ANOVA (SPSS). I will use hypothesis testing to find out the correlation

between the problems experienced by forensic accountants and the effect of these problems on

their performance in Saudi courts. Statistical hypothesis testing will be appropriate to analyze the

data for the study because the method will enable me to assess if a certain premise is actually true

for their data set.

20

References

Aghimien, P. A. (2016). Development of accounting standards in selected Middle Eastern

countries in comparison to the United States of America. Review of International Business

and Strategy, 26(1), 69-87.

Alabdullah, T. T. Y., Alfadhl, M. M. A., Yahya, S., & Rabi, A. M. A. (2013). The Role of

Forensic Accounting in Reducing Financial Corruption: A Study in Iraq. International

Journal of Business and Management, 9(1), 26.

Alhassan, A. F. M., & Al-Saad, S.A. (2016). Forensic accounting Accounting and Reduction of

Financial and Administrative Corruption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of

Accounting, Auditing and Governance. 1 (3), pp. 41-76.

Alhassan, A. F. M. (2017). Forensic Accounting and Financial Fraud: Evidence from Saudi

Arabia.

Alkahtani, T., Aljerian, K., Golding, B., & Alqahtani, S. (2015). Forensic science in the context of

Islamic law: A review. Journal of forensic and legal medicine, 34, 179-181.

Al-Saad, S.A. (2013). Forensic accounting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Current practice and

future perspective: An empirical study (exploratory). Journal of King Abdul Aziz

University Economics and Administration. 27(1), Pp.3-94.

Dada, S. O., Owolabi, S. A., & Okwu, A. T. (2013). Forensic accounting a panacea to alleviation

of fraudulent practices in Nigeria. Int. J. Buss. Mgt. Eco. Res, 4(5), 787-792.

Ehioghiren, E. E., & Atu, O. O. K. (2016). Forensic accounting and fraud management: evidence

from Nigeria. Igbinedion University Journal of Accounting 2, 248-308.

Fiia, F. (2013). Forensic accounting: A tool for fraud detection and prevention in the public sector.

(A study of selected ministries in Kogi state). International Journal of Academic Research

in Business and social sciences, 3(3), 1.

21

Haniffa, R., & Hudaib, M. (2007). Locating audit expectations gap within a cultural context: The

case of Saudi Arabia. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 16(2),

179-206.

Hetsler, R. (2015). What Are the Biggest Issues Facing Forensic Accountants.

Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-biggest-issues-

facing-forensic-accountants-robert-hetsler-j-d-

Howieson, B. (2018). What is the ‘good’forensic accountant? A virtue ethics perspective. Pacific

Accounting Review, (just-accepted), 00-00.

Kasum, A. (2009). The relevance of forensic accounting to financial crimes in private and public

sectors of third world economies: A study from Nigeria.

Kumari Tiwari, R., & Debnath, J. (2017). Forensic accounting: a blend of knowledge. Journal of

Financial Regulation and Compliance, 25(1), 73-85.

Lee, C. C., Cefaratti, M., & Green, E. R. (2015). The incremental benefit of a forensic accounting

course to creativity. Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting, 8(1), 157-167.

Lim, Y. M., Lee, T. H., Yap, C. S., & Ling, C. C. (2016). Employability skills, personal qualities,

and early employment problems of entry-level auditors: Perspectives from employers,

lecturers, auditors, and students. Journal of Education for Business, 91(4), 185-192.

Owojori, A. A., & Asaolu, T. O. (2009). The role of forensic accounting in solving the vexed

problem of corporate world. European Journal of Scientific Research, 29(2), 183-187.

Sui, H. (2013). The Development Way of Forensic Accounting in China. Accounting and Finance

Research, 2(3), 119.

Van Akkeren, J., Buckby, S., & Tarr, J. A. (2016). Forensic accounting: Professional regulation of

a multi-disciplinary field. Australian Business Law Review, 44, 204-2015.

22

Williams, J. W. (2014). The private eyes of corporate culture: The forensic accounting and

corporate investigation industry and the production of corporate financial security. In

Corporate Security in the 21st Century (pp. 56-77). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Zadeh, H., & Ramazani, M. (2012). Accountant's Perception of Forensic Accounting (Case Study

of Iran). Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran.

23