A Case Study: What Should We Learn From Olympus?

• In Event: Audit Research in Fraud Issues

Abstract

This paper studies how to develop materials and tools in forensic accounting education through the case of Olympus Corporation. Olympus Corporation has been investigated for financial statement fraud. According to the 2012 ACFE report, financial statement fraud is the most costly form of occupational fraud, causing a median loss of $1 million among the total of 1,388 fraud cases studied worldwide. Every firm and organization faces the possibility of fraud, regardless of industry or country. One of the biggest fraud cases, the Olympus Corporation case, shocked the world. Additional financial scandals, such as Enron and WorldCom, have further eroded investors’ confidence. Strengthening the ways to confront fraud is essential to the rebuilding of investors’ confidence, hence, the development of forensic accounting education. Forensic accounting can help professionals learn from fraud cases, and forensic accounting education can help academics teach students how to detect and control fraud. The Olympus Corporation case can serve these goals.

Authors

• Masako Saito, Osaka Sangyo University

• Teresa L Conover, University of North Texas