Despite these observations, the fraudulent act is only minimally examined in empirical settings,
and most of the work is descriptive in nature (e.g., Beasley et al. 2010; ACFE 2012) as opposed to
relational, grounded in prior research and theory. To highlight the potential value of more refined
research of the various fraud acts, consider red flags. Red flags are believed to be potential
indicators of a fraud act, yet their value has not been documented as especially effective in research
or practice; rather, the red flags seem to corroborate malfeasance once discovered.6 Maybe red flags
would be more effective indicators of fraudulent acts when examined in groupings that form a
pattern? It is possible that red flags associated with revenue overstatement, for example, might show
up in multiple places such as increasing accounts receivable and decreasing operating cash flows
while inventory and accounts payable are flat. It might be that red flags are of minimal value when
examined in isolation but more effective fraud indicators when examined together. To date, red flags for fraud acts are treated as if all red flags are of equal value. Such may not be the case.
Without systematic, rigorous examination of the various fraud and financial crime acts, detection
efforts may not be as effective as they could be. See Wilks and Zimbelman (2004) for a rich
discussion of game theory, social psychology, judgment and decision making, and auditing,
including the examination of red flags. These insights should be helpful to research and practice.