Author(s): Mohammad Rokibul Kabir, Farid A. Sobhani, Norhayati Mohamed
Fraud is regarded as one of the most severe issues and difficulties in today's business world. Though auditing is thought to be the check mechanism to prevent fraud, it is encountered with fraud risks like asset misappropriation and fraudulent reporting. The integrity of the accounts and audit management and a transparent internal audit system can play a significant role in ensuring audit quality. Again, emerging Blockchain Technology (BT) plays a vital role by providing a triple entry accounting system with its immutable nature. This paper, thus, aims at explaining the impact of integrity and effectiveness and transparency on audit fraud risk mitigation (AFR). It also evaluates the moderating role of blockchain technology in AFR. This research applies the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to explain the causal relationship. Primary data are collected for this research from Bangladesh's accounts and audit professionals through a structured questionnaire. The findings of the study refer that the integrity and transparency in the accounting system and audit process significantly impact AFR. Again, the application of blockchain is found to moderate the relationship between integrity and AFR. Similarly, blockchain application moderates the relation between transparency and AFR. The study delves into evolving BT and its applications in the accounting and auditing landscape. Thus, with its original contribution to unveiling the moderating role of BT between integrity, transparency, and AFR, this research can help policymakers mitigate fraud and increase audit quality.