The role of accounting in combating business fraud: control mechanisms and corporate governance.

Abstract

This article examines the role played by accounting in preventing and combating corporate fraud, with emphasis on internal control mechanisms and corporate governance practices. Based on a bibliographic review of national scientific publications from 2014 to 2025, it investigates how the accounting framework, when combined with robust control systems and good governance practices, contributes to the integrity of financial information and reduces the risk of earnings manipulation. The findings indicate that corporate governance directly influences the mitigation of fraudulent financial reporting, that internal and external auditing is an indispensable tool in detecting irregularities, and that weak internal controls represent the main vector of exposure of organizations to illicit practices. It is concluded that the integration of accounting, internal control and governance forms a synergistic system capable of significantly reducing the incidence of corporate fraud.