Fraud interpretation and disclaimer audit opinion: Evidence from the Solomon Islands public sector (SIPS)

PURPOSE: Financial transactions fraud (FTF) and financial statements fraud (FSF) grew exponentially during the past decades coupled with complex and sophisticated technological developments. This study aims to investigate the practitioners’ interpretation of fraud with recurring audit issues in the disclaimer audit opinions (DAOs) reports within the Solomon Islands public sector (SIPS). // DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The empirical study involves qualitative data analysis. The analysis alongside theoretical developments is informed by the “fraud triangle” theory. // FINDINGS: The research results revealed the practitioners’ acknowledgement of FSF, FTF and fraud in the SIPS, as generally prevalent and aligned to some components of the fraud triangle theory. This study is sceptic about the good intentions of the International Public-Sector Accounting Standards –Cash-basis framework and favours the Provincial Government Act 1997 and the Public Finance Management Act 2013 requirements. It further suggests that fraud is positively linked to repeated audited report issues and the executive management when DAOs issues appear repeatedly in annual audit reports. // ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study contributes to the literature on fraud and attempts to link the interpretation of fraud with recurring audit issues in the DAOs reports in the SIPS. It views fraud awareness and knowledge from the perspective of the audit practitioner. There is an increasing need to understand how fraud knowledge impacts decision making and the actions of auditors and others, an area that is underdeveloped

Solomon Islands Provincial Profile of the 2009 Population & Housing Census

9 provincial report

Effects of human population density and proximity to markets on coral reef fishes vulnerable to extinction by fishing

Coral reef fisheries are crucial to the livelihoods of tens of millions of people; yet, widespread habitat degradation and unsustainable fishing are causing severe depletion of stocks of reef fish. Understanding how social and economic factors, such as human population density, access to external markets, and modernization interact with fishing and habitat degradation to affect fish stocks is vital to sustainable management of coral reef fisheries. We used fish survey data, national social and economic data, and path analyses to assess whether these factors explain variation in biomass of coral reef fishes among 25 sites in Solomon Islands. We categorized fishes into 3 groups on the basis of life-history characteristics associated with vulnerability to extinction by fishing (high, medium, and low vulnerability). The biomass of fish with low vulnerability was positively related to habitat condition. The biomass of fishes with high vulnerability was negatively related to fishing conducted with efficient gear. Use of efficient gear, in turn, was strongly and positively related to both population density and market proximity. This result suggests local population pressure and external markets have additive negative effects on vulnerable reef fish. Biomass of the fish of medium vulnerability was not explained by fishing intensity or habitat condition, which suggests these species may be relatively resilient to both habitat degradation and fishing