Many scholars, from diverse disciplines, have addressed issues of fraud in organizations and society. Sociologists have been interested in various aspects of while collar crime, the boundaries between entrepreneurialism, rules and criminal and fraudulent activity and the social construction of fraud, scandal and corruption.

Legal scholars have ranged from a concern with liability regimes, the enforcement of law and regulations and the roles of various professional firms and associations in producing legal and commercial practice in relation to insolvency, bankruptcy, liability and the enforcement of contracts. Students of political science have been concerned about the regulation of fraud and the inter-relations between governance and corruption. Economists have examined the relationship between property rights, governance regimes in corporations and economies and linked these to measures of economic and social well being.

The boundaries between formal and informal economic activity connects with a concern with fraud and tax revenues. Management and organization researchers have been concerned with wrong doing and illegal activity in organizations, including a concern with the nature and identity of fraudsters and whistle blowers. Management itself has been described in terms of moral mazes. Research in ethics increasingly raises questions about the moral character of fraud and corruption, questioning the very categories of popular, academic and professional discourse. This workshop invites scholars from such disciplines to address issues that are likely to be relevant in expanding the domain of accounting research on fraud.

 

Fraud in Accounting, Organizations and Society
April 1-2, 2011
Imperial College, London

A workshop sponsored by Accounting, Organizations and Society, University of Alberta and Queens University.