Beyond the arm. L’uso dei sistemi esperti per la revisione contabile e l’individuazione delle frodi aziendali

Abstract

The thesis presented concerns the use of expert systems and new technologies for auditing with particular reference to the identification of corporate fraud related to fraudolent financial information. The articulation of the thesis reflects the development phases of the research work carried out during the years which, starting from purely theoretical studies and research, was then enriched with the experiences gained in the context of the collaboration at the Revisya project undertaken by auditing and consulting firm RSM Società di Revisione e Organizzazione Contabile S.p.A.. The chapters therefore retrace the studies and activities carried out over the years, summarizing the subjects and issues in-depth thanks to the studies carried out in the field of fraud, forensic disciplines and new technologies applied to the audit activities. The first chapter is entirely dedicated to fraud, to the characteristics that distinguish this type of offense and to the models used to classify and analyze fraud. These studies were fundamental in order to define the reference context and the field of investigation of the research carried out. The first chapter presents, first of all, an examination of the most famous frauds in history, starting from the speculative bubbles of the XVII and XVIII centuries up to the most recent and well-known cases such as the Madoff case. The treatment of fraud continues through the analysis of the main models, such as the Fraud Triangle, which allow to define and explain what are the personal conditions that push an apparently normal individual to become a fraudster and what are the weaknesses of an economic organization which expose it more easily to this category of offenses. Finally, the chapter ends with the discussion of the main fraudulent schemes as codified internationally and the results deriving from the statistical analyzes carried out by ACFE worldwide on the frequency of certain categories of fraud and their distribution based on the geographical area and the characteristics of the fraudsters. The second chapter, on the other hand, is dedicated to examining the forensic disciplines and the role played in the field of fraud by professionals working in this field with particular attention to the matter of fraud auditing. Fraud auditing is aimed at identifying the presence of fraud within economic organizations by means of a targeted investigation that can detect the main signs of fraud (called red flags) and perform subsequent analysis of the anomalies found. Based on what has been described, the research activity carried out had among the objectives of analyzing the possibilities of integrating the investigation techniques typical of fraud auditing into the procedures used in auditing activities. For this purpose, it was essential to highlight the characteristic features and differences existing between fraud and financial audit to identify possible points of contact between the two disciplines and the main areas of intervention. Of fundamental importance for the development, enhancement and improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of auditing activities is the use of expert systems, artificial intelligence and forms of augmented intelligence capable of creating synergies and interactions with human intelligence and the auditor's professional judgment. The "digitization" of auditing procedures and activities constitutes a fundamental turning point for the performance of this professional activity which increasingly needs to raise the quality level of the service offered and the trust in response from users of financial statements. Finally, the third chapter is dedicated to the applicative research activities carried out in the course of the collaboration with the company RSM Società di Revisione e Organizzazione Contabile S.p.A. which gave rise to an innovative project aimed at creating an internal software and auditing software aimed at professionals and smaller auditing firms. Thanks to this project, I had the opportunity to participate in the redesign and re-engineering of the auditing procedures in a digital key and the implementation of multiple Augmented Intelligence components capable of enhancing human intelligence without ever replacing it. The aim of the project was to create software capable of providing the auditor with increasingly efficient and effective tools for managing auditing activities, providing a useful guide for carrying out the entire process. Therefore, the chapter presents the main features of the software and the automation and Augmented Intelligence components contained within it, aimed at managing routine and repetitive processes and, at the same time, more complex analyzes that require the management of a great deal of information. The Augmented Intelligence component that characterizes the software supports user decisions as it processes the available data by comparing them with the reference variables and evaluating the characteristics of the company and the reference sector, proposing a value or a solution to the auditor. The software is also able to assess the risks and significance of the items for the purpose of preparing customized audit programs suitable for covering all assertions. The discussion continues by presenting some of the most innovative functions contained in Revisya, such as the automated financial statement analysis tool which, starting from the import of the company financial statement in XBRL format, is able to provide a detailed report of over 30 pages of analysis. Of particular relevance within the analysis is the section relating to the quality of the financial statements which displays the results of the analysis performed automatically by the software regarding the presence of possible anomalies and manipulations of the financial statements. At the end of the paper, the results obtained thanks to the use of the software and the impacts determined on the organization of work and the performance of company procedures are summarized. [edited by Author]